Recommendations for the management of patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia: overview of a new European Atherosclerosis Society consensus statement

Abstract

Although homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH) is rare, patients with this disease have a poor prognosis, even when they receive the best available treatment, including pharmacotherapy and apheresis. The current therapeutic gap emphasizes the potential impact of new and developmental treatment options, which include lomitapide, mipomersen, anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies and CETP inhibitors. It is imperative that patients with HoFH receive the most appropriate treatment as early as possible and clinical guidance is needed to provide clinicians with the information they require to expedite diagnosis and initiate effective treatment. Until now, however, guidance on the management of (HoFH) has generally been included as part of broader guidelines on dyslipidemia, FH or low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-apheresis and even in guidelines specifically on FH, HoFH has been under-represented. A consensus statement on recommendations for the management of HoFH has recently been published by a working group of the European Atherosclerosis Society. An outline of the content of the statement is presented in the current paper.

Keywords: Aortic stenosis; Familial hypercholesterolemia; Plamaphaeresis; Statin.