A Belgian consensus strategy to identify familial hypercholesterolaemia in the coronary care unit and its subsequent cascade screening and treatment: BEL-FaHST (The BELgium Familial Hypercholesterolaemia STrategy)

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant lipoprotein disorder characterized by significant elevation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and markedly increased risk of premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). Because of the very high coronary artery disease risk associated with this condition, the prevalence of FH among patients admitted for CVD outmatches many times the prevalence in the general population. Awareness of this disease is crucial for recognizing FH in the aftermath of a hospitalization of a patient with CVD, and also represents a unique opportunity to identify relatives of the index patient, who are unaware they have FH.

Source: Atherosclerosis - October 1, 2018 Category: Cardiology Authors: Olivier S. Descamps, Olivier Van Caenegem, Michel P. Hermans, Jean-Luc Balligand, Christophe Beauloye, Antoine Bondue, St éphane Carlier, Emilie Castermans, Fabien Chenot, Marc Claeys, Christophe De Block, Anne de Leener, Antoine De Meester, Fabian Demeu Source Type: research