East Lancs health bosses welcome kids cholesterol tests

12:24pm Tuesday 19th August 2008

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HEALTH bosses in East Lancashire have welcomed moves to identify risks of high cholesterol in children as young as 10.

Under guidelines to be published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which governs all NHS treatment, tests for the ‘high cholesterol gene’ are to be recommended for people of all ages.

More than 110 men in every 100,000 died from coronary heart disease in Blackburn with Darwen between 2004 and 2006, compared to a national average of about 75. In the rest of East Lancashire, the disease is the biggest single cause of death among men.

Cholesterol – the fatty deposits in blood vessels which cause cardiovascular problems like heart disease and strokes – can be controlled by most people through diet, fitness and quitting smoking.

But around 120,000 people across the country have “familial hypercholesteroleaemia” genes, which means they inherit high levels of cholesterol and can be at risk of cardiovascular problems from an early age, even if they are otherwise healthy.

Despite the risk, fewer than a fifth of these people know they are carriers.

The tests, which are set to be targeted at families with a history of high cholesterol, would allow those people to be identified early, and given statin drugs to keep cholesterol levels down.

Dr Malcolm Ridgeway, local GP and chairman of NHS Blackburn with Darwen’s professional executive committee, said: “Given the high incidence of heart disease and stroke in Blackburn with Darwen, we are very interested in any new test or treatment that will help us reduce the risk.

“We are awaiting the release of this new guidance and will look to implement its recommendations within our plans to reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease locally.”

Dr Ellis Friedman, Public Health Director for East Lancashire PCT, covering Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley, said: “If people at high risk can be better identified, then it’s all to the good because they can be treated earlier.

“Chlolesterol relating to these inherited group of disorders is not related to lifestyle, although diet is still very important in handling the matter, along with drug treatment. We would support the initiative, but as yet we do not know how many people in our area will be affected.”