Children and young people with FH

By getting diagnosed and treated early, people with FH can have a normal and healthy life

Having familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) means there is too much cholesterol in your blood.

Cholesterol can stick to the insides of your blood vessels and damage them. Cholesterol is really important to keep your body working properly, but too much can be unhealthy.

Knowing how to live with FH means you can grow up the same as anyone else and live a healthy and active life.

FH is relatively easy to diagnose and finding out if you have it at a younger age is really important. Treatment works better when started early, before high levels of cholesterol can cause any damage to your blood vessels.

Your doctor may suspect you have FH if:

  • your cholesterol is very high
  • other family members have been diagnosed with FH
  • a close relative had a heart attack or stroke when they were quite young.

If you do have FH there are some positive things you can do to stay fit and healthy: