evidence: Researchers link gene variant in Amish population to lower risk of heart disease University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers, working with scientists from the Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC), discovered a new gene variant associated with lower levels of heart-damaging LDL cholesterol and a blood clotting protein called fibrinogen that appears to significantly lower a person's risk of heart disease. While the gene variant is extremely rare in the general population (less than 1 in 10,000), it is found in about 12 percent of those living in the Lancaster county, Pennsylvania Amish community, according to the study published today in the journal Science.