Somerset Council’s Public Health team is asking people to check their family history of heart disease, as part of a new campaign to find the estimated 2,000 people in the county living with an undiagnosed inherited condition.
Familial Hypercholesterolaemia, or FH, is a genetic condition that causes dangerously high levels of cholesterol from birth. It affects around one in 250 people, and because it runs in families, a parent with FH generally has a 50% chance of passing it on to each of their children. Left untreated, it can lead to heart attacks and strokes at an unusually young age.
At the heart of the campaign is a short film in which Luke Potts (40), from Porlock, who has FH, shares his own experience of being diagnosed and what it has meant for his family.
Luke was only 29 when he had his first heart attack, his dad died of a heart attack at the age of 40, as did his grandad. Luke has since had six more heart attacks; he is now at the age of 40.
In the short film Luke says: “After looking into it, it turned out to be something called Familial Hypercholesteremia. If you don’t know about it and get it checked, it’ll kill you.”
View the short film here: https://youtu.be/lOSoq73UKpo
The condition is easily treated once it is found. The problem is finding it. FH has no symptoms, and most people who have it have no idea until they or a relative become seriously ill.
The campaign, launched to coincide with FH Awareness Day on 24 September, centres on one simple question: Has anyone in your family had a heart attack under the age of 60? If so, visit www.healthysomerset.co.uk/FH to find out more, assess your family history and find out how to book an NHS health check. The NHS Health Check takes around 30 minutes and includes a cholesterol test – often the first step towards an FH diagnosis.
Alongside the film, the campaign is putting bookmarks into libraries across Somerset – and asking people to help find the missing 2,000. One side asks readers about heart attacks under 60 in their family; the other promotes the free NHS Health Check available to anyone aged 40 to 74. Both carry a QR code linking straight through to more information and advice on how to book. Pick one up, pass it on to someone it might apply to and ask the question at home: has anyone in our family had a heart attack young? One conversation could be the reason someone gets checked in time.
Councillor Evie Potts Jones, Lead Member for Public Health at Somerset Council, said:
“Most people don’t realise high cholesterol can be inherited. If someone in your family had a heart attack under the age of 60, that’s worth paying attention to.
“This campaign is about getting people to ask that question, because once we find FH it’s very treatable – the hard part is finding it. A free NHS Health Check takes half an hour and includes a cholesterol test, so if you’re aged 40 to 74, please book one. It’s one of the simplest things you can do for your health.”
Dr Alex Bickerton, Consultant in Lipids at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said:
“If anyone in your family has had a heart attack at a young age – under the age of 60; then it is possible you may have familial hypercholesteremia and you should get yourself checked.
“Luke had his first heart attack when he was only 29, so you could be walking around in your 40s and 50s and have this condition without knowing it.
“The good news is that with treatment and a healthy lifestyle and medication is extremely successful, so the main message is to get yourself checked.”
People aged 40 to 74 who have not had one in the last five years can book a free NHS Health Check at www.service.somerset.gov.uk/nhs-health-checks
People who are not eligible for a health check or who are under the age of 40, should visit: www.healthysomerset.co.uk/FH to assess your family history before making your GP aware. Phoning the GP surgery isn’t always necessary – the website has information including how and when to get in touch with your GP.
