The study, of nearly 200,000 people, found sections of DNA that control both height and heart health.
The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed every extra 2.5in (6.4cm) cut coronary disease incidence by 13.5%
The British Heart Foundation said short people should not be unduly worried and everyone needed a healthy lifestyle.
Coronary heart disease, which includes heart attacks and heart failure, is the leading cause of death in the UK.
More than 73,000 people die from the disease each year.
‘Small’ risk
The idea that height plays a role in heart health was first proposed more than 50 years ago, but researchers did not know why.
Some thought the relationship was a consequence of other factors, such as poor childhood nutrition stunting height and also affecting the heart.
But the study at the University of Leicester suggests the answer lies deeper – inside our DNA.
They analysed 180 genes that have a known link to height………