By DoM Communications | Date published: February 12, 2026

Shyam Patel and Matthew McGuiness Study Differential Impact of Clonal Hematopoietic Mutations on 10-Year Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk 

In a recent abstract at the 2025 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, a team led by Shyam Patel, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, and Matthew McGuiness, MD, MEd, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, reported on the impact of clonal hematopoietic mutations on 10-year ASCVD risk in patients from the UMass CHIP Clinic.  

CHIP, which stands for clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, is the precursor condition for myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. According to Dr. Patel and his team, CHIP has been linked with atherosclerotic disease and other cardiac comorbidities, based on the concept that genetic aberrations within the hematopoietic compartment can lead to a systemic hyperinflammatory state, most notably affecting the cardiovascular system. The typical hematopoietic mutations associated with cardiovascular disease include DNMT3A, TET2, and ASXL1 (“DTA” mutations).  

In this abstract, Drs. Patel and McGuiness assessed the 10-year ASCVD risk in patients with purely DTA-mutant CHIP compared to all other subtypes of CHIP. They found that the 10-year ASCVD risk in the non-DTA group was significantly higher compared to healthy controls. According to the team, there was no difference in 10-year ASCVD risk between pure DTA vs. non-DTA groups, suggesting that CHIP mutations beyond the DTA cluster have an impact in cardiovascular disease. The non-DTA patients with CHIP had a significantly greater potential for ASCVD risk reduction with optimization of their cardiovascular risk factors.  

Drs. Patel, McGuiness, and their team aim to foster collaborative science between the Divisions of Hematology/Oncology and Cardiovascular Medicine, with an overall vision of exploring interventional clinical trials aimed at risk mitigation for CHIP-associated cardiovascular disease.