Our latest Back to Basics is a wallchart highlighting key features about familial hypercholesterolaemia with links to other useful information.
Back to Basics: Managing familial hypercholesterolaemia
Practical tools for CVD prevention: FH implementation guidance
Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a common monogenetic condition that causes high levels of cholesterol in the blood, resulting in an increased risk of heart disease at an early age. FH affects around one in every 270 people. That means that in England around 160,000 adults and 40,000 children under 18 years are likely to have FH, though only around 3,000 have been diagnosed by DNA testing. This article discusses the new implementation guide, which is designed to improve the identification and treatment of people with FH.
The role of primary care in patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia
This article provides a pragmatic approach for primary care following NICE’s update to their guidance on identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia (CG 71) published in November 2017.
Cholesterol and cardiovascular risk
Raised blood cholesterol is a major risk factor in developing coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases. Effective and well-tolerated lipid-lowering treatment improves outcomes for patients with elevated cholesterol, especially those with familial hypercholesterolaemia.
What’s new in FH genetics?
Recent advances in next generation sequencing (NGS) have reduced costs and made genetic diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) quicker. This article reviews some of the technological breakthroughs in DNA testing in FH and benefits to patients and clinicians.
HEART UK – The Cholesterol Charity – has provided editorial support and review of this sponsored FH series.This article was made possible by an unrestricted educational grant by Sanofi, who had no control over content.
Why do we need new options for managing FH?
In patients with both homozygous and heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), statins with or without ezetimibe are now the mainstay pharmacological therapy for lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, combined with lipoprotein apheresis in homozygotes and statin-refractory heterozygotes. These therapies have helped to improve outcomes, but new treatment options areurgently needed, as FH patients continue to be at high risk of premature death due to cardiovascular disease (CVD).
HEART UK – The Cholesterol Charity – has provided editorial support and review of this sponsored FH series.This article was made possible by an unrestricted educational grant by Sanofi, who had no control over content.
The management of familial hypercholesterolaemia
Homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a rare disorder with a very high risk of premature cardiac death that must be diagnosed and treated from childhood onwards, usually with lifelong lipoprotein apheresis. Heterozygous FH is much commoner, with a high risk of cardiovascular disease in adults that can be prevented by early diagnosis and statin therapy.
HEART UK – The Cholesterol Charity – has provided editorial support and review of this sponsored FH series.This article was made possible by an unrestricted educational grant by Sanofi, who had no control over content.
The importance of early diagnosis: how to identify patients with FH for diagnosis and referral
Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is under-diagnosed and under-treated, despite clear evidence-based guidelines for identification and management, and the availability of low-cost, generic, high-intensity statin treatment. Genetic cascade testing is the key to early diagnosis, which can help ensure that this treatment is no longer ‘too little, too late’.
HEART UK – The Cholesterol Charity – has provided editorial support and review of this sponsored FH series.This article was made possible by an unrestricted educational grant by Sanofi, who had no control over content.
