The British Heart Foundation is welcoming the latest guidelines on the identification and management of people with Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FA). This condition is inherited through family genes and leads to very high levels of harmful cholesterol, a major factor in heart problems.
High cholesterol levels are usually caused by poor diet and the way an individual produces cholesterol in their liver, but people with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) have a lack of low-density lipoprotein receptors that remove cholesterol from the blood. Children of a FH sufferer have a 50% risk of inheriting the problem from birth and this leads to the early development of hardening of the arteries.
Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, Professor Peter Weissberg, said –
‘We welcome this guideline which focuses on offering cascade screening to the families of those who are known to be affected by FH. Coupled with other screening programmes, it should help identify a large proportion of people with this inherited condition. These recommendations, if fully implemented, could make a life-saving difference to the thousands of families across the UK affected by FH’
Each year the British Heart Foundation commits over £60m to support cardiovascular studies. Through pioneering research, patient care and campaigning, the BHF support the sufferers of heart disease throughout the UK. They rely on your donations to continue their life-saving work, so we can help beat heart disease together.
