Peripheral atherosclerosis in familial hypercholesterolaemia.
Unlike coronary artery disease, peripheral atherosclerosis is considered to be infrequent in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia. The authors studied 20 consecutive asymptomatic familial hypercholesterolaemic patients and an age- and sex-matched control group of consecutive normolipidaemic and asymptomatic patients admitted to the hospital for elective non-vascular surgery. The patients and the controls were studied non-invasively by measuring the ankle-arm systolic blood pressure ratio at rest. Peripheral atherosclerosis was common in this study population in contrast to the control group: an abnormal (less than 0.97) pressure ratio was found in 13 patients (65%) in the study group but in only one person in the control group. Eight out of 20 patients had coronary artery disease, and seven of them had an asymptomatic concomitant peripheral artery disease. Neither the classical risk factors, i.e. age, smoking, obesity, hypertension and glucose intolerance, nor serum lipid or lipoprotein status or the parameters of cholesterol metabolism correlated with peripheral atherosclerosis. It is concluded that atherosclerosis in familial hypercholesterolaemia is a multilevel disease that frequently affects also the peripheral arteries.
Perhoniemi
V
V
Second Department of Surgery, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Gylling
H
H
Salmenkivi
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D006938:Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II / Q000150:complications*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors
D008055:Lipids