Guest blogger Beth Howard, a former SELF Magazine editor, contributes to AARP Magazine, Prevention, Reader’s Digest and many other publications and websites. She writes regularly about health, psychology, parenting and design.
Concern about elevated cholesterol, a culprit behind many heart attacks and strokes, usually starts when we are middle aged. But for people with a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, or FH, dangerously high cholesterol can develop as young as early childhood.
That’s why the National Lipid Association recently issued new recommendations for cholesterol screening and has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the disorder and its effects. According to the organization, children with a family history of premature cardiovascular disease or high cholesterol should be screened beginning at age 2, and screening of other children should start between ages 9 and 11.
“The present guidelines state everyone should have their cholesterol tested by age 20,” says Patrick M. Moriarty, M.D., medical director of the Atherosclerosis and LDL-Apheresis Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center. “But we know that the longer you have high cholesterol, the more likely you are to develop heart problems.”
Familial hypercholesterolemia, or FH, is a genetic disorder that causes extremely high cholesterol levels, particularly high levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol. While normal cholesterol levels are approximately 200 mg/dL, people who have inherited FH from one parent typically have levels ranging from 350 to 550 mg/dL. Those who have inherited the condition from both parents usually score between 650 to 1000 mg/dL. In addition to high cholesterol, some people with FH have physical symptoms, such as yellow deposits in the skin around the eyes, or swollen tendons on the back of the heel, elbows, or knuckles.
FH affects more than 600,000 Americans, yet as many as half of people with FH don’t know they have it. Unfortunately people with FH have a 20-fold elevated risk of heart disease if the condition is left untreated. “Mortality for FH is 50 percent by age 40, so early diagnosis and early therapy is critical,” Dr. Moriarty says.
Treatment for FH is a lifelong affair aimed at lowering cholesterol by at least 50 percent. Research shows that cholesterol-lowering statins can reduce the risk of death in FH patients. Other types of cholesterol-lowering medications may also be prescribed. Patients are advised to make careful diet and other lifestyle changes as well. Says Dr. Moriarty, “These measures stabilize the plaque in the blood vessels, making it less likely to rupture, thus helping prevent heart attacks and strokes.”
Connect the Dots
To learn more about familial hypercholesterolemia, read this fact sheet and visit the National Institutes of Health. For more on healthy eating, see our blog posts, “For Heart Health, Don’t Be Afraid of Saturated Fats,” “How the Mediterranean Diet Helps the Heart,” and “The Hidden Health Risks of Sweet Drinks.”
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