Our research examined how genetic testing could help doctors in the UAE prescribe the best medicine for patients with heart disease. We found that genetic testing is possible and can show us when a patient’s current medication might not be the best choice based on their unique genetic makeup. In fact, almost all patients in our study got advice that could lead to more personalized and effective treatment.

We also thought about several important things before recommending that this type of genetic testing becomes common practice in the UAE. These include the UAE’s diverse population, the need to fit genetic testing into the current healthcare practices, getting approval for clinical studies, assessing whether such testing is practical, ensuring that our findings apply to the whole country, and having enough participants to support our conclusions.

Specifically, we studied 160 patients taking common heart disease medicines and found that many of them have genetic differences that affect how well their medicines work. For example, about half of the patients might need a medicine different from clopidogrel to prevent blood clots because of their genes. We also found genetic variations that could change the dosage needs for warfarin, a blood thinner, and identified a risk for muscle side effects with certain cholesterol-lowering drugs in some patients.

The bottom line is that our study shows a strong case for using genetic information to tailor heart disease treatment to each patient in the UAE.