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From childhood, the disease can cause multiple cardiovascular complications. In fact, early detection is more than necessary.
It is a disease little known to the general public, and yet: familial hypercholesterolemia (HF) is one of the most common genetic diseases in the world and in France – so much so that it affects more than 225,000 French people today. .
Familial hypercholesterolemia, what is it?
“It is a hereditary genetic disease, completely silent, twenty times more common than mucoviscode and hemophilia combined”, says Lionel Ribes, president of the association ANHET.f.
Unfortunately, “only 10% of adults are screened and 5% of children”adds the expert.
Thus, nearly 90% of patients are unaware of their disease… until late manifestations appear: eye problems, heart attack, stroke, acute coronary syndrome…
Important fact: adults, like children, are affected by these complications.
Since the disease is hereditary, from birth, toddlers can thus have an abnormally high blood level of bad cholesterol (LDL-Cholesterol greater than 1.9 g/l). Hence the importance of getting diagnosed.
Advancing screening
“The only way to detect this disease is through screening. It can be done at any age, but the earlier, the better. This will prevent children from accumulating cholesterol in the arteries and the accelerated aging of these. In this way, we contain the cardiovascular risk”recalls Lionel Ribes.
This screening, which consists of a simple blood test associated with a family questionnaire, can be carried out in toddlers from the age of 2 and a half.