Screening Infants Could Prevent Early Heart Attacks: Study
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published October 27, 2016 | 11:40 AM
MIAMI, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Oct, 2016 ) - Screening young children for high cholesterol at the same time as they receive routine vaccinations could prevent hundreds of heart attacks in young adults each year, researchers in Britain said Wednesday.
Their study in the New England Journal of Medicine aimed to uncover a silent killer in young adults known as familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a genetic disorder that often leads to early heart disease.
FH runs in families, and if left untreated can raise the risk of heart disease at a young age as much as 100 times, according to the article. In the largest screening study to date, more than 10,000 children around one year old were tested for high cholesterol and genetic mutations known to be associated with FH at 92 facilities across England.
Forty children tested positive for FH at a rate of about one in 270 children. Their parents were then contacted for screening, revealing an additional FH-positive parent, the report said. "Overall, one person at high risk of early heart attack was identified for every 125 people tested," it said.
Such screening throughout Britain could prevent about 600 heart attacks in people under the age of 40, according to the researchers from Queen Mary University of London's Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine.
"This is the first demonstration that child-parent screening works on a large scale," lead researcher David Wald said. "It's the only screening method that stands a reasonable chance of covering the whole population and identifying those at highest risk of an early heart attack." Once high-risk children are identified, they can take steps to lower cholesterol, including exercise, avoiding smoking, maintaining a heathy diet, and -- when older -- taking statin medication.
"Now that we've demonstrated this as being effective across England, the next step is for public health agencies to consider offering this routinely at the time of childhood vaccination to test all children aged 1-2 years," Wald said.
"No extra clinic visits are needed and uptake is high because parents are already focused on the future health of their children and the family as a whole."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Taxing cigarettes a way forward for public and economic health
3 Gawadar attack victims funeral offered
Mbappe says he will leave PSG at end of season
Usmani felicitates Sardar Saleem on taking oath as Punjab Governor
DC for provision of facilities to people in Lasbela
Solar storm could bring auroras, power and telecoms disruptions
Court grants interim bail to PTI leaders
Ulema, Mashaykh call for political accountability, collaboration for Pakistan's ..
SHRC asks NADRA to issue CNICs to transgender as per law
Flash floods kill 50 in one day in north Afghanistan
CDA chief expresses commitment to promoting modern-day technologies
By wide margin, UN General Assembly votes to back Palestinian bid for membership ..
More Stories From World
-
For some residents of Mexico's Cancun, beach seems world away
17 minutes ago -
Endrick in Brazil's Copa America squad but no Neymar
7 hours ago -
Djokovic bottle strike overshadows Rome Open cruise past Moutet
7 hours ago -
Train crash in Argentine capital leaves 30 injured
7 hours ago -
Pandemic agreement talks to continue beyond deadline
7 hours ago -
Chopra falls short in Doha, Bednarek blitzes before Olympics
7 hours ago
-
Djokovic struck with bottle from stands after winning Rome opener
7 hours ago -
England great Anderson's Test career under threat after McCullum talks - report
8 hours ago -
Senegal launches inquiry into Boeing jet runway crash
8 hours ago -
Madagascan leader's former aide jailed in UK for graft
8 hours ago -
Seven killed as bus crashes into river in Russia's St Petersburg
8 hours ago -
Mbappe confirms he will leave PSG at end of season
8 hours ago