Published 27 August 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1095
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1095

Practice

Guidelines

Familial hypercholesterolaemia: summary of NICE guidance

Anthony S Wierzbicki, consultant chemical pathologist1, Steve E Humphries, British Heart Foundation professor of cardiovascular genetics2, Rubin Minhas, coronary heart disease clinical lead3, on behalf of the Guideline Development Group

1 St Thomas’ Hospital, London SE1 7EH, 2 Centre for Cardiovascular Genetics, British Heart Foundation Laboratories, Royal Free and University College London Medical School, London WC1E 6JJ , 3 Medway Primary Care Trust, Gillingham ME8 0NJ

Correspondence to: R Minhas fh@rubin.icom43.net

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The estimated prevalence of familial hypercholesterolaemia in the United Kingdom is 1 in 500. Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia carries a high risk of premature coronary heart disease (>50% risk in men by the age of 50 years and >30% in women by 60 years), but the condition is underdiagnosed. This article summarises the most recent recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on diagnosing and managing familial hypercholesterolaemia.1

NICE recommendations are based on systematic reviews of best available evidence. When minimal evidence is available, recommendations are based on the guideline development group’s opinion of what constitutes good practice. Evidence levels for the recommendations are given in italic in square brackets.

  • Consider the possibility of familial hypercholesterolaemia in adults with raised cholesterol (total cholesterol concentration typically >7.5 mmol/l), especially if they have a personal or family history of premature coronary heart disease. [Based on the experience of . . . [Full text of this article]

Background
Methods
Future research

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