PHACTR1 and cardiovascular disorder: Decreased distensibility leads to arterial stiffness which is an independent predictor for cardiovascular diseases including CAD.27 We show that the CAD allele GG (rs9349379; associated with reduced PHACTR1 expression) is associated with decreased distensibility in the ascending aorta compared with the SCAD-risk allele AA which is associated with increased distensibility.