The earliest symptom or complaint is usually pain in the calf or thighs on exercise (intermittent claudication). As the arteries to the legs are narrowed or blocked, the blood supply to the muscles during exercise is impaired. There is an increased demand for blood supply to the muscles during walking, particularly in the calf muscles … Read more
Males are affected about six times more often than females and it seems as if their hormones protect women from arterial disease until after the menopause. After that the female seems to be at just as high a risk. The difference in incidence between males and females is gradually changing and it is evident that … Read more
Fatty material may be deposited in the arteries which can lead to a narrowing or “stenosis” and thereby reduces blood supply to the legs. Alternatively, the wall of the artery may become weakened and stretched. This swelling which can burst is referred to as an aneurysm. Aneurysms most often occur in the abdominal part of … Read more
Diseases of the arteries are common; the best known is coronary artery disease. This is the narrowing of the coronary arteries which supply blood to the heart and it can lead to a heart attack. The process which causes the arteries to block is called atherosclerosis; fatty substances accumulate in the coronary artery wall which … Read more
Great strides are being made by researchers in this field of treatment. ‘It is probable that angioplasty performed actually during a heart attack can limit the amount of damage which the heart sustains especially if treatment is started early. Doctors are also working on ways of reducing the recurrence of symptoms which happens to some … Read more
This chapter describes the special investigations which are commonly used to help diagnose and evaluate people suspected of having heart disease. It is divided into two sections. The first section deals with relatively straightforward tests. Most, or all, of these can be performed in local district general hospitals. The second section covers more complex investigations … Read more
All FH patients should be on a low cholesterol, low saturated fat, high polyunsaturated fat diet from early childhood. They should never smoke nor take contraceptive pills without medical advice in some e instances … Read more
The chief risk is premature death or disability from atherosclerosis, especially of the coronary arteries. This risk is greater than for other types of hyperlipidaemia because the hypercholesterolaemia is more severe and because it is present throughout life. Apart from this increased risk of coronary disease individuals with FH are normal in all other respects.
FH can usually be detected at birth if a sample of umbilical cord blood is taken for measurement of LDL cholesterol. Otherwise a clear-cut increase in cholesterol is apparent by the age of 1 in most instances and persists throughout life. Clues to the presence of FH in adults include corneal arcus, xanthelasma and lumps … Read more