Private MD News

At-risk individuals are often overlooked for cholesterol testing

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Individuals who have a family history of high cholesterol are being urged by health experts to seek cholesterol testing. In light of recent findings of UK researchers, which showed that doctors miss screening many people who are at risk, individuals may benefit from taking the initiative to seek testing themselves.

Certain genetic variations can increase one's risk of developing high cholesterol. The condition is known as familial hypercholesterolaemia, and when one member of a family develops it, his or her brothers, sisters and children are also at risk.

However, researchers from the Royal College of Physicians in the UK found that 100,000 individuals in the country who have family members with the condition have not received cholesterol testing. This puts these people at tremendous risk of developing complications that could eventually prove fatal.

The researchers recommended that anyone who has a first- or second-degree relative who has been diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolaemia seek cholesterol testing. This is particularly true for children, who the study showed are often overlooked in the situation.