PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Nadeem Qureshi AU - Steve E Humphries AU - Mary Seed AU - Philip Rowlands AU - Rubin Minhas AU - on behalf of the NICE Guideline Development Group TI - Identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia: what does it mean to primary care? AID - 10.3399/bjgp09X472674 DP - 2009 Oct 01 TA - British Journal of General Practice PG - 773--778 VI - 59 IP - 567 4099 - http://bjgp.org/content/59/567/773.short 4100 - http://bjgp.org/content/59/567/773.full SO - Br J Gen Pract2009 Oct 01; 59 AB - Familial hypercholesterolaemia is one of the most common dominantly inherited disorders to be identified in primary care, leading to raised serum cholesterol evident from the first year of life. Around 1 in 500 people are affected by this condition, but less than 15% of these are currently attending lipid clinics, suggesting that the vast majority are unrecognised in general practice. The recently released National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence evidence-based guideline on the identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia provides an opportunity to bridge this gap. Primary care has a role in systematic and opportunistic case finding, such as recognising the relevance of a family history of premature coronary heart disease and/or grossly elevated cholesterol. Although affected individuals need specialist care, GPs can reinforce the information provided by specialists and support cascade screening to other affected members of the extended family.