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Hypercholesterolemia in Youth: Opportunities and Obstacles to Prevent Premature Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

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Abstract

Treatment of hypercholesterolemia in youth is predicated on the knowledge that we can identify those youth with this atherosclerotic risk factor most likely to develop premature cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Before we can adequately address appropriate lipid-lowering therapies in this special population, we must address and resolve current barriers related to screening and diagnosis. In this article, we describe some of the opportunities and obstacles that clinicians and policy makers confront when applying the current pediatric guidelines focused on screening and treating hypercholesterolemia in the pediatric population.

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Acknowledgment

We appreciate the contributions of Dr. Rachel Novotny (University of Hawaii) and Drs. Angie Hochhalter and E. E. Terry at Scott & White to the preparation of this manuscript.

Disclosure

Drs. McNeal and Cassidy-Bushrow are investigators within the Cardiovascular Research Network supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) grant U19-HL91179. Dr. McNeal was supported by a grant from the American Heart Association No other potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics and Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Scott & White, 2401 South 31st Street, Temple, TX, 76502, USA

    Catherine J. McNeal

  2. Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, 1919 East Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85016, USA

    Tala Dajani

  3. Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, 1919 East Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85016, USA

    Don Wilson

  4. Department of Biostatistics & Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Hospital, 1 Ford Place, 3E, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Andrea E. Cassidy-Bushrow

  5. Oregon Department of Human Services, 500 Summer Street NE, Salem, OR, 97301, USA

    Justin B. Dickerson

  6. Department of Social and Behavioral Health, School of Rural Public Health, 1266 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-1266, USA

    Marcia Ory

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  1. Catherine J. McNeal
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  2. Tala Dajani
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  4. Andrea E. Cassidy-Bushrow
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  5. Justin B. Dickerson
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  6. Marcia Ory
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Correspondence to Catherine J. McNeal.

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McNeal, C.J., Dajani, T., Wilson, D. et al. Hypercholesterolemia in Youth: Opportunities and Obstacles to Prevent Premature Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease. Curr Atheroscler Rep 12, 20–28 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-009-0072-0

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