Doctors Often Overlook Dangerous Cholesterol Condition

A new study published by the European Atherosclerosis Society reveals that doctors often overlook a potentially dangerous and deadly form of cholesterol disease that is inherited from the parents.

Known as familial hypercholesterolemia, the condition reported affects around 1 in 500 people with 14 to 34 million people around the world predicted to have the disease.

The condition is caused due to a defect in chromosome 19, thus making it difficult for the body to eliminate bad cholesterol in the bloodstream, leaving the sufferer at a high risk of narrowing of the arteries at a young age.

The researchers said that familial hypercholesterolemia is rarely diagnosed in time and is often detected only after the patient dies unexpectedly at a young age or develops heart disease.

Source: Medindia