High Cholesterol Levels Despite Improving Lifestyle? It May Be A Hereditary Heart Disease

Editor’s Note: This article is intended for information purposes only. It does not substitute a doctor. It is vital to always consult a medically trained professional for advice that suits your needs best.

In the first quarter of 2022, just like the past years, diseases involving the heart and the rest of the cardiovascular system topped the leading causes of deaths for Filipinos. Ischemic heart diseases came in first, followed by cerebrovascular diseases (second place), hypertensive diseases (fifth place), and other heart diseases (eighth place).

Though poor diet and lifestyle practices play a big part in developing those deadly ailments, genetics and family history also matter a lot. There are hereditary heart diseases that can lead to death when not addressed and treated.

What you need to know

A hereditary heart disease is passed on through your parents' genes. It is also called an inherited cardiac conditions (ICC) or genetic cardiac conditions. ICC is an umbrella term covering a wide variety of relatively rare diseases of the heart, according to the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS).

This type of heart ailments are caused by a fault, or mutation, in one or more of the genes. If you, for instance, have a faulty gene, there’s a 50/50 chance it can be passed on to your children. But you and your children may not know it until a family member suffers from a sudden cardiac death (SCD).

Drawing a medical family tree is therefore advised by experts. You keep one with the help of an appropriate health professional, such as a heart doctor or cardiologist. Your own medical family tree can help see if you have, or have had, any other family members with the same condition.

Hereditary heart diseases

There are different types of inherited cardiac conditions:

Familial cardiomyopathies

Under this group of heart diseases, there are:

1. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)

What happens in familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is that part or all of the heart muscle thickens that can cause sudden death in extreme cases, according to Penn Medicine.

The thickening usually occurs in the interventricular septum, or the wall that divides the left and right ventricles (also known as the two lower chambers of the heart). This results to difficulty in proper blood flow from the heart, thus forcing the heart to pump harder than it should.

Additionally, the thickening can give the left ventricle less room to hold blood, which can then raise pressure inside that chamber. As a result, you may feel short of breath and be at risk for abnormal heart rhythms.

2. Idiopathic or familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)

DCM is the opposite of HCM because instead of the heart muscle thickening, the heart muscle becomes thin and weak. It can affect both sides of the heart. When the muscle stretches, the affected chamber also becomes enlarged. That's why pumping blood becomes less efficient and may lead to heart failure.

This condition can cause symptoms, such as:

• Irregular heartbeat
• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Fainting
• Swelling of the abdomen and legs

But you may also not notice any symptoms. That's why it's important to have yourself checked if heart diseases run in your family.

3. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC)

4. Restrictive cardiomyopathy

Familial arrhythmias

1. Long QT syndrome (LQTS)

2. Brugada syndrome

3. Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT)

4. Short QT Syndrome (SQTS)

Marfan syndrome

This is a genetic cardiac condition that affects the body’s connective tissues, which provide support and structure to other tissue and organs.

There is a 50/50 chance that someone with Marfan syndrome will have a child with the condition, according to NHS. But Marfan syndrome is relatively rare, affecting just about 1 in 5,000 people.

Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS)

This means an unexplained underlying familial heart rhythm caused the passing of persons who didn't know they had a heart condition.

Familial hypercholesterolemia

Yes, this involves cholesterol, specifically having too much of the bad type of fat-like substance in the body. Bad cholesterol is actually low-density lipoproteins (LDL) that narrows arteries, either partially or completely blocking blood flow, and causes high blood pressure, or hypertension.

Yes, having too much bad cholesterol in the body can also run in the family. It can cause symptoms at an early age, compared to cholesterol buildup by greasy food, lack of exercise, and smoking. That's why, lifestyle modification is not enough and medication is needed for this hereditary heart disease.

Read here how you can protect your heart and brain, too.