A new study in Arizona will use DNA in order to determine a person’s risk of heart disease.

Launched by Dignity Health, it is the first study of its kind to be conducted in North America. 

Dr. Robert Roberts, director of cardiovascular genomics at Dignity Health, says he hopes the results save more lives in the future.

“For those of us in cardiology, particularly those of us who are in genetics, really do feel we’ve been waiting for this moment," Roberts said. "I’m very excited, from my point of view, to be able to launch this study and hope that it will be incorporated into routine technical practice soon.”

He says that the study’s participants, nearly 2,000 men and women between the ages of 40 and 60, will have the opportunity to act on their test results.

"And the purpose of this study is to individually evaluate people, determine their risk, and, at the same time, if they are at high risk, counsel them in terms of appropriate treatment," Roberts said.

Roberts believes that the 10-year study could lead to a paradigm shift in the prevention of coronary artery disease, the world’s No. 1 killer.