When High Cholesterol Runs in the Family: Could It Be Inherited?
If cholesterol stays high despite lifestyle changes, when should someone ask a clinician about familial hypercholesterolemia and family screening?
Learn when persistent high cholesterol warrants a conversation about inherited risk and screening for close relatives, without assuming that any single result proves FH.
Quick answer
Persistently high LDL can reflect impaired inherited clearance rather than lifestyle alone, making family history, clinical assessment, and family screening more informative than another round of food restriction.
This guide answers
- Persistently high LDL can reflect impaired inherited clearance rather than lifestyle alone, making family history, clinical assessment, and family screening more informative than another round of food restriction.
References
- CDC — About familial hypercholesterolemia — cdc.gov
- NICE — Guidance: CG71 — nice.org.uk
- MedlinePlus — Condition: Familial hypercholesterolemia — medlineplus.gov
- Understanding Barriers and Motivators of Familial Hypercholesterolemia Genetic Testing: Insights From the Singapore Public. — Journal of genetic counseling
- Severe familial hypercholesterolemia and pregnancy: handle with care. — Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD
- Diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia through population screening. — Expert review of cardiovascular therapy
- Birth and first-year outcomes in infants of mothers with familial hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the US: A retrospective cohort study. — Journal of clinical lipidology
- Predicting genetically defined familial hypercholesterolemia with the FAMCAT algorithm in an Australian tertiary clinic. — Journal of clinical lipidology
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- A New Bowel Pattern or Blood in the Stool: When Should You Get Checked?
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