(19 April 2022) We are excited to announce that the Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) webpage has gone live on the Health Education England Genomics Education Programme (HEE GEP) website. This page has been developed to support all healthcare professionals in understanding the identification and care of patients with FH and their families.
The page collates key information, resources and education materials that will support healthcare professionals in delivering the national FH transformation project.
It has been developed by the national GMSA FH Project Education and Training Leadership Group in collaboration with the Genomics Education Programme, and designed by Ben Armstrong (HEE GEP).
The background
The NHS Long Term Plan set an ambition to identify 25% of the predicted FH patients in the next five years. Achieving this goal will depend heavily on input from general practitioners.
This is because when an individual is diagnosed with FH, intensive lipid-lowering treatment is crucial to improve cardiovascular outcomes, alongside ensuring that relevant family members are offered testing for the condition.
The project
The national transformation project is being delivered through the seven regional GMSAs in England and aims to identify effective strategies to increase detection of patients with FH. The project also aims to support the mainstreaming of FH testing, and work with and support primary care in evaluating and transforming FH pathways.
A bit about Familial Hypercholesterolaemia
Familial Hypercholesterolaemia is an inherited condition that predisposes affected individuals to extremely high cholesterol levels and premature cardiovascular disease. It’s currently under-diagnosed, with only 10 – 15% of those affected believed to have been identified.