Causes of death in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.
Five out of 15 homozygotes and 41 out of 527 heterozygotes of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) died during the past 10 years. Sudden death or heart failure was the cause of death in each of the 5 deceased homozygotes. Twenty heterozygotes died of myocardial infarction, 9 of sudden death, and 1 died after AC bypass surgery. Thus, 30 heterozygotes (73.2%) died of coronary heart disease (CHD). The mean age of death was significantly younger in male heterozygotes (54 years) than in the females (68 years). Rate of death from CHD in heterozygotes was 11 times higher than in the general population in Japan. Rate of death from pancreas cancer in FH was significantly higher than in the general population. These results suggest that FH is highly associated with pancreas cancer as well as CHD.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006579:Heterozygote; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D006938:Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality*; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality