Inherited disorder characterized by a high level of serum cholesterol and early development of atherosclerosis that places affected individuals at a high risk for certain types of heart disease.
An inherited tendency to have dangerously high blood cholesterol levels. Since high cholesterol levels increase the risk of atherosclerosis (artery disease), people with this condition have a greater than normal incidence of heart attack. Familial hypercholesterolemia may b e indicated by a history of early heart attack in close blood relatives, particularly parents or siblings. If blood tests show elevated cholesterol levels, a program of appropriate diet (including restricted intake of fats and cholesterol), exercise, and cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) will decrease the risk of heart attack.
A type of hyperlipoproteinemia in which low-density lipoproteins are not removed from the bloodstream in normal amounts by lipoprotein receptors in the liver. Affected persons have massively elevated serum lipid levels.