Genetic High Cholesterol More Common Than Thought
Researchers say finding shows early treatment is important to avert heart attack
By Alan Mozes
MONDAY, March 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Twice as many people as previously thought are genetically predisposed to develop dangerously high cholesterol levels, new research suggests.
Familial hypercholesterolemia, as this condition is called, significantly ups the risk for an early heart attack. The study found it affects about one in every 250 American men and women, rather than one in 500.
The new numbers don't reflect a problem on the rise, however, said study author Dr. Sarah de Ferranti, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Instead, the condition was previously "under-recognized," she explained.
For those who have this potentially deadly condition, "it is extremely important to get early, consistent preventive care," de Ferranti said.
"The key is for you and your clinician to understand and distinguish between mild to moderately high cholesterol that comes on in middle age related to a less than ideal lifestyle, and very high cholesterol that has been present since birth, which has allowed the high cholesterol to build up over decades," she explained.
If a close relative has a heart attack or chest pain before age 50, consider having other family members checked, she suggested.
Preventive measures include medication and lifestyle modification, de Ferranti noted. "We have very effective medications to lower cholesterol that we believe can reduce heart disease rates to the level of people without [familial hypercholesterolemia] if taken early enough and with good consistency," de Ferranti noted.
It's also important to maintain a healthy weight, watch what you eat and control blood pressure, she said. Not doing so can make your situation worse, she explained.
Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, agreed that while the risks are serious, good treatment is at the ready.
"Without treatment," he said, "men who have familial hyperchosterolemia frequently have heart attacks in their 40s and 50s, and women with familial hypercholesterolemia frequently have heart attacks in their 50s and 60s."
Once detected, "there are a number of very effective treatments that can lower the LDL cholesterol and prevent heart attacks and stroke in individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia," added Fonarow.