The prevalence of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia in northeastern Colombia in patients with established atherosclerosis

Abstract

Introduction: Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder characterized by elevated LDL-C, generally above 190 mg / dl and a high risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Despite its high social and economic impact, it continues to be an underdiagnosed and under-treated pathology.

Objective: To establish the prevalence of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HFH) in patients with established atherosclerotic coronary and / or cerebrovascular disease, since in Colombia there are no such data or data on the number of patients with established cardiovascular disease with this condition.

Methods: An observational, analytical and cross-sectional study of anonymized secondary data was developed in two institutions of high complexity in the cardiovascular and neurovascular area in the Colombian Northeast. The inclusion criteria were: age 18 years or older, patients with established atherosclerotic coronary and / or cerebrovascular disease; patients without an evaluable lipid profile were excluded. Prevalence was defined from individuals classified as possible / probable cases, that is, those who achieved a score between 3-8 points according to the criteria of the Dutch Network of Lipid Clinics. A registry database of 470 patients was evaluated.

Results: 7.8% of the studied population has possible / probable heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, a statistically significant dependence was determined between heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and the age of presentation of earlier cardiovascular events (55.83 years vs. 65.60 years), 60% of the possible / probable cases were 40 years or younger.