Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of Familial Hypercholesterolemia among Patients with Premature Coronary Artery Disease Admitted to a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Prospective Observational Study

A BSTRACT Background: There are hardly any Indian data addressing the prevalence and prognostic significance of hypercholesterolemia in patients with premature coronary artery disease the present study was planned to estimate the prevalence of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and to compare the lipid control at 3 months among patients with and without the possibility of FH. Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital in Himachal Pradesh, India, among patients of premature coronary artery disease (males age <55 years, and females age <60 years). Patients with advanced liver/kidney disease, cancer, hypothyroidism, and pregnant females were excluded from the study. All consecutive patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria during the study period (March 2020 to March 2021) and were willing to participate were included in the study. All the patients received treatment as per current guidelines for the management of coronary artery disease. The data collected were entered in the MS Excel master sheet. Data were tabulated and analyzed using SPSS v22. Results: A total of 160 patients were enrolled in the study. Majority of the study participants were in the age group of 45–55 years (73.1%). The prevalence of definite/probable FH was observed to be 11.3%. At 3 months, both the study groups had a reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) values and it was significantly lower in cases without FH. Unlikely/possible FH group had a median LDL value of 51.7 mg/dl and definite/probable FH had a median of 127.5 mg/dl. Conclusion: The Modified Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria are a good screening tool and because of poor lipid control among FH patients they may require intensification of treatment.