HMM: Scientists Discover “Completely Different” New Risk Factor for Heart Disease. “In addition to the established risk factors for cardiovascular disease—such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, smoking, and lack of physical activity—another factor must now be considered: clonal hematopoiesis. This condition, caused by acquired mutations in blood stem cells, has already been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular events. However, until now it was uncertain if clonal hematopoiesis was a cause or consequence of cardiovascular disease. Now, a new study published in Nature Medicine and carried out by researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) resolves this critical debate by establishing clonal hematopoiesis as a new risk factor for atherosclerosis—the formation of lesions in the arterial wall that underlies most cardiovascular disorders.”