Hot Topics in Primary Care: Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Youth

Worldwide, guidelines support early identification, aggressive lifestyle management, and pharmacologic lipid lowering therapies when appropriate in youth with FH. These guidelines are aimed at improving the unending cycle of premature CHD in families despite the vast body of knowledge regarding the natural history of undiagnosed and untreated FH. Although valid concerns have been raised about treating youth other than those with FH with lipid-lowering pharmaceuticals, we believe the preponderance of the evidence laid forth by multiple professional societies from the United States and abroad is clearly weighted in favor of early diagnosis and treatment with lifestyle modification, to prevent the acquisition of other risk factors, and habituation to lifelong low-fat diet and adequate physical activity. We can think of no other instance where providers in the field of family medicine could have such a profound impact on the current and future health of child and parent and even future generations.