New service launched to help families with inherited risk of heart disease

Dr Adrian Mairs, Consultant in Public Health Medicine at the PHA and public health lead for the programme, said: “Northern Ireland is one of the first countries that have an organised system for identifying people with Familial Hypercholesterolaemia. Our aim is to identify everyone with this genetic disorder so that they can get the advice and treatment they need to prevent the early development of cardiovascular disease and premature death.”

This is a regional service that will be delivered locally and has been developed to actively identify all known cases of FH and offer family follow-up testing to their immediate family members. The development of this new service should result in an additional 1,000 people with FH being diagnosed and treated over the first four years of the programme. This will prevent at least 170 cardiovascular deaths.

https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/news/new-service-launched-help-families-inherited-risk-heart-disease