Researchers in the United States and Canada have found a genetic link to heart disease. A separate study by researchers in Iceland found that the same genetic factor was linked to about 20 percent of all heart attacks.

U.S. and Canadian researchers found that as many as one in four white people carry the section of DNA that boosts heart attack risk by up to 40 percent.

Researchers found that individuals carry two copies of a certain chromosome were at an increased risk of developing heart disease.

But researchers also found that lifestyle choices such as diet and exercise had an impact on an individual's risk of developing heart disease even with the genetic factor.

Findings are published in the Journal Science.