Centro de Genética Humana, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge. jlavinha@mail.telepac.pt
In this paper the role of molecular biology research and development in establishing etiology and pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease is discussed. Several examples of our own practice in the field (namely, Di George sequence, hereditary protein S deficiency, and hyperhomocysteinaemia) are provided as an illustration of the currently applied strategies.