Genetically inherited high cholesterol twice as common as believed

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/aha-gih030916.php

Public Release: 14-Mar-2016
Genetically inherited high cholesterol twice as common as believed
American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report
American Heart Association

Genetically inherited high levels of cholesterol are twice as common in the United States as previously believed, affecting 1 in 250 adults, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

The condition, familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), leads to severely elevated cholesterol levels from birth and is a leading cause of early heart attack.

"It's more common than we thought and it's important to look for it at a young age because someone with FH may have no symptoms until there is serious heart disease. A common story might be someone who develops chest pain or has a heart attack in their 30s or 40s -- even though they look healthy, eat well, and are thin and fit," said Sarah de Ferranti, M.D., M.P.H., lead author of the study, assistant professor of pediatric cardiology at Harvard Medical School, and director of preventive cardiology at Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts.

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