A rare missense mutation in <i>MYH6</i> associates with non-syndromic coarctation of the aorta

Through a population approach, we found that a rare missense mutation p.Arg721Trp in the sarcomere gene MYH6 has a strong effect on the risk of CoA and explains a substantial fraction of the Icelanders with CoA. This is the first mutation associated with non-familial or sporadic form of CoA at a population level. The p.Arg721Trp in MYH6 causes a cardiac syndrome with highly variable expressivity and emphasizes the importance of sarcomere integrity for cardiac development and function.