{"id":849,"date":"2015-11-27T12:45:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-27T01:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/"},"modified":"2016-04-07T19:23:57","modified_gmt":"2016-04-07T09:23:57","slug":"children-adolescents-and-fh","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/","title":{"rendered":"Children, adolescents and FH"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1440\" src=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/wp-content\/uploads\/children.png\" alt=\"children\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" \/>Diagnosis<\/h3>\n<p>If you have FH you have high LDL cholesterol (\u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol) from birth. Fatty streaks, the first measurable sign of<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"Cholesterol and cardiovascular disease\" href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/cholesterol-and-cardiovascular-disease#cvd\">cardiovascular disease<\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>may be present by the age of 10.<\/p>\n<p><b>With early diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular disease risk can be greatly reduced.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Children over the age of five and adolescents will be offered testing after one of their parents has been diagnosed with FH. There is a 50% chance a child will have FH e.g. if there are 4 children, 2 are likely to have FH. See \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/what-is-fh#fh_inherited\">How is FH inherited?<\/a>\u2019<\/p>\n<h3>Treatment<\/h3>\n<p>Children and adolescents with FH will be referred to a paediatrician in a children\u2019s hospital, if a \u2018family\u2019 clinic is not available.<\/p>\n<p>Treatment is individualised for each child and adolescent and takes into account age, family history, presence of other cardiovascular<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"Cholesterol and cardiovascular disease\" href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/cholesterol-and-cardiovascular-disease#risk_factors\">risk factors<\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>and the level of LDL cholesterol at diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p>Following a<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><b>healthy lifestyle<\/b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>should be encouraged from an early age. A healthy lifestyle includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/treatment-lifestyle\/healthy-diet\/\">eating a healthy diet<\/a>\u00a0(low in saturated and trans fat and with\/without<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"Plant Sterols\" href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/treatment-lifestyle\/healthy-diet\/plant-sterols\/\">plant sterols<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/treatment-lifestyle\/physical-activity\/\">doing regular physical activity<\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 see<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.health.gov.au\/internet\/main\/publishing.nsf\/content\/health-pubhlth-strateg-phys-act-guidelines\" target=\"_blank\">Physical activity guidelines for children and adolescents<\/a><\/li>\n<li>being an appropriate weight (doctor will advise on this)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/treatment-lifestyle\/smoking\/\">not smoking<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/treatment-lifestyle\/alcohol\/\">avoiding alcohol<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/treatment-lifestyle\/social-and-emotional-health\/\">maintaining social and emotional health<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Making these changes as a family (including taking medication together) will benefit the entire family, including those members who don\u2019t have FH.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/treatment-medication\/#Medication_Statins\">Statins<\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>are the first choice in<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><b>medication<\/b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>and can reduce LDL cholesterol levels by up to 60%. Statins are considered after the age of 10 years for both boys and\u00a0girls. Additional medications are<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"Treatment \u2013 Medication\" href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/treatment-medication\/#cholesterol_absorption_inhibitors\">cholesterol absorption inhibitors<\/a>\u00a0(Ezetimibe) and<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"Treatment \u2013 Medication\" href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/treatment-medication\/#bile\">bile acid binding resins<\/a>\u00a0(compliance for this medication is often poor in children).<\/p>\n<p><b>Tests:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>regular<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"Diagnosis\" href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/diagnosis\/#blood_tests\">blood tests<\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>will monitor side effects and adherence to medication<\/li>\n<li>weight, growth, physical and sexual development and well-being will be checked regularly<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/tests-for-cardiovascular-disease\/#cimt\">Carotid Ultrasound<\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>(CIMT) will measure artery wall (intima-medial) thickness and presence\/progression of plaques; this will guide the intensity of treatment. Ultrasounds will be done every 2 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Prognosis<\/h3>\n<p>Children and adolescents who maintain a healthy lifestyle and take medication from an early age will be able to avoid cardiovascular disease associated with FH and therefore will have a normal life expectancy.<\/p>\n<p>Read a personal story \u2013<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><a title=\"Putting my child on statins \u2013 one parent\u2019s journey\" href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/personal-stories\/putting-my-child-on-statins-one-parents-journey\/\">Putting my child on statins \u2013 one parent\u2019s journey<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>The advice in this website does not replace advice from your GP or healthcare provider.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Diagnosis If you have FH you have high LDL cholesterol (\u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol) from birth. Fatty streaks, the first measurable sign of\u00a0cardiovascular disease\u00a0may be present by the age of 10. With early diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular disease risk can be greatly reduced. Children over the age of five and adolescents will be offered testing after one &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Children, adolescents and FH<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":833,"menu_order":220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Children, adolescents and FH - FH Australasia Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Children, adolescents and FH - FH Australasia Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Diagnosis If you have FH you have high LDL cholesterol (\u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol) from birth. Fatty streaks, the first measurable sign of\u00a0cardiovascular disease\u00a0may be present by the age of 10. With early diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular disease risk can be greatly reduced. Children over the age of five and adolescents will be offered testing after one &hellip; Continue reading Children, adolescents and FH\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FH Australasia Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-04-07T09:23:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/wp-content\/uploads\/children.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/\",\"name\":\"Children, adolescents and FH - FH Australasia Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-11-27T01:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-04-07T09:23:57+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Patients\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/cholesterol-and-cardiovascular-disease\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Children, adolescents and FH\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/\",\"name\":\"FH Australasia Network\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Children, adolescents and FH - FH Australasia Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.athero.org.au\/fh\/patients\/children-adolescents-and-fh\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Children, adolescents and FH - FH Australasia Network","og_description":"Diagnosis If you have FH you have high LDL cholesterol (\u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol) from birth. 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