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Familial hypercholesterolaemia in Australia: new insights and developments

Ian R Hamilton-Craig and Gerald F Watts
Med J Aust 2013; 198 (2): . || doi: 10.5694/mja12.11467
Published online: 4 February 2013

A model of care is in place but the challenge of early detection remains

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is the most common and serious type of inherited hyperlipidaemia. It causes premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), in particular coronary heart disease (CHD), bringing forward the onset of CVD by one to four decades.1


  • 1 Griffith University School of Medicine, Gold Coast, QLD.
  • 2 School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA.


Correspondence: ihcgriffith@gmail.com

Competing interests:

Ian Hamilton-Craig has received honoraria for consulting and lectures from the following pharmaceutical companies: Sanofi, Abbott, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Amgen. Gerald Watts has received honoraria for consulting and lectures from the following pharmaceutical companies: Sanofi, Genzyme, Amgen, Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, AstraZeneca, GlaxoWelcome, Pfizer.

  • 1. Watts GF, Sullivan DR, Poplawski N, et al; Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Australasia Network Consensus Group (Australian Atherosclerosis Society). Familial hypercholesterolaemia: a model of care for Australasia. Atheroscler Suppl 2011; 12: 221-263. http://www.healthnetworks.health.wa.gov.au/modelsofcare/docs/Familial%20Hypercholesterolaemia%20Model% 20of%20Care.pdf (accessed Jan 2013).
  • 2. Defesche JC. Familial hypercholesterolemia. In: Betteridge DJ, editor. Lipids and vascular disease. London, UK: Martin Dunitz, 2000: 65-76.
  • 3. Austin MA, Hutter CM, Zimmern RL, Humphries SE. Familial hypercholesterolemia and coronary heart disease: a HuGE association review. Am J Epidemiol 2004; 160: 421-429.
  • 4. Neil HA, Huxley RR, Hawkins MM, et al; Simon Broome Familial Hyperlipidaemia Register Group and Scientific Steering Committee. Comparison of the risk of fatal coronary heart disease in treated xanthomatous and non-xanthomatous heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia: a prospective registry study. Atherosclerosis 2003; 170: 73-78.
  • 5. Watts GF, Juniper A, van Bockxmeer F, et al. Familial hypercholesterolaemia: a review with emphasis on evidence for treatment, new models of care and health economic evaluations. Int J Evid Based Healthc 2012; 10: 211-221.
  • 6. Williams RR, Hamilton-Craig I, Kostner GM, et al. MED-PED: An international project for the detection and improvement in management of familial hypercholesterolemia. In: Williams RR, editor. Preventive cardiovascular genetics. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1997.
  • 7. Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Expert panel on integrated guidelines for cardiovascular health and risk reduction in children and adolescents: summary report. Pediatrics 2011; 128 Suppl 5: S213-S256. Epub 2011 Nov 14.

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