‘56,000 UK children must go on statins’
Watchdog’s cholesterol warning
TeNS of thousands of children should be put on statins to control inherited high cholesterol levels, according to the health watchdog.
It wants youngsters to start taking the pills from the age of ten and continue them for the rest of their lives.
NICe, the National Institute for Health and Care excellence, is urging GPs to trawl their lists to identify children and adults suspected of having the condition based on their family history.
As many as 260,000 Britons including 56,000 children under 16 may have inherited high cholesterol levels, known as familial hypercholesterolaemia, or FH.
The condition is deadly and half of men will suffer from a stroke before they are 50 and a third of women before they reach 60.
But there are no symptoms, and only 15 per cent of sufferers have been diagnosed including only 600 children.
NICe wants GPs to carry out DNA tests on anyone with a close family member who has suffered a heart attack or stroke before the age of 60.
If this confirms the diagnosis of FH, they should be put on statins immediately. They should also be told to lose weight and exercise, but this must not be a substitute for statins, the guidelines say.
Children with FH should be started on statins at ten, although in some cases their doctor may want to prescribe them earlier.
The guidelines come amid a long-running row over the safety of statins, which are prescribed to six million adults in the UK. Many experts claim they are underused by doctors and should be offered to another six million adults with only a low risk of heart disease. But opponents – including doctors – fear
‘Few know they have the condition’
they are being prescribed needlessly when little is known about their long-term harms.
reported side effects include type 2 diabetes, severe muscle and joint pain, memory problems and fatigue. FH is caused by a faulty gene passed on by one of the parents. If someone’s parent or sibling has the condition, they have a 50 per cent chance of having it themselves.
Sufferers’ cholesterol level is raised from birth and by the time they are 40 will be at a similar level to patients in their 70s or 80s. If FH is left untreated, fatty deposits will build up in the blood vessels restricting the flow of blood to the heart, brain and other organs.
Professor Mark Baker, of NICe, said: ‘Familial hypercholesterolaemia is a serious, often undiagnosed but relatively common condition which, if treated early – ideally in child- hood – will not affect normal life expectancy for the majority of people with it.
‘However, without treatment people with FH have a high chance of developing cardiovascular disease earlier than most.
‘Starting on the right treatment, usually with a high-intensity statin, as soon as possible is important, but only a fraction of people with the condition know they have it.’
Dr raymond Jankowski, of Public Health england, said: ‘Focusing on improving diagnosis of FH is an excellent opportunity to improve the public’s health and prevent early heart attacks and stroke.’