IL6 and heart failure: In addition, other pieces of evidence arrive from the significant results of a recent meta-analysis of 74 studies, showing a significant association of the -174C allele (rs1800795) of IL-6 gene polymorphism with several CVD, including myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, ischemic stroke, peripheral arterial occlusive disease, and heart failure [16], in spite of functional effect of this allele on IL-6 serum level [44].