What if I have a family history of familial hypercholesterolemia?
A family history of hypercholesterolemia is very, very important. Familial hypercholesterolemia means that an individual has a very high circulating cholesterol concentration. Cholesterol is a major risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis, by that I mean furring up of the coronary arteries. People with familial hypercholesterolemias usually have heart attacks in their twenties and […]
I have a family history of high blood pressure. Does that matter?
Hypertension or a high blood pressure is usually familial, cheap by that I mean it runs in families. If you have a parent that has high blood pressure, there’s a very high chance that that individual will develop high blood pressure. High blood pressure is an important problem because it can cause stroke, it can […]
You mention there are sometimes symptoms. How important are symptoms?
Symptoms that an individual perceives are obviously important – they may be the first clue to someone harbouring a potentially serious condition. There are several symptoms that a young individual needs to be aware of that would forewarn them that there may be a cardiac problem and these include chest pain, central chest pain described […]
When I was younger I was told I have a heart murmur. Does that matter?
Heart murmurs can be due to numerous things. They can be due to a problem with the heart valves, they may be due to a hole in the heart. Some children when they are born are identified with a heart murmur that is usually due to a hole in the heart. In many situations, if […]
A family member has a cardiomyopathy. Does this mean it will be passed on to me?
Cardiomyopathies are usually familial, by that I mean they run in families and they are inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. That is to say that if a parent has a cardiomyopathy, there’s a 50% chance that the cardiomyopathy will be transmitted to any one of their offspring. So in the context of a family […]
If someone is overweight are they more at risk from these conditions?
Obesity predisposes to cardiac problems, it predisposes to high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiomyopathy. Obesity in itself is a separate morbid entity, it does not overlap with the genetic and congenital conditions that cause sudden death in young, apparently healthy individuals or athletes. Having said that, obesity needs to be tackled and maintenance of a […]
Will I be able to talk to a cardiologist on the day?
We aspire to speak to all young individuals having cardiac screening because there’s a lot of anxiety associated with screenings. Unfortunately, some of these screening programmes are very large, involving 200 people on any given day and it’s very difficult to have a detailed discussion with a cardiologist if there are 200 people wanting the […]
Once I have been screened will I need to be screened again?
Screening with an ECG is aimed at identifying people with cardiomyopathies or electrical disorders of the heart. In answer to the question, electrical abnormalities can be excluded with a one-off ECG, provided the patient has no symptoms. However, the situation is quite different with the cardiomyopathies. Let me give you the example of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. […]
My daughter only wants to see a female technician. Can this be arranged?
At Cardiac Risk in the Young, we have many technicians, of which I’d say 60 or 70% are female. There are no issues at all with a female wanting to be screened by another female technician and that would be fully possible at any of our screening programmes. We also ensure that there’s always a […]
How many people need heart scans?
In the CRY screening programme, following a health questionnaire and an ECG, between four and five percent of individuals require a heart scan. We subject those individuals to heart scans, in whom we believe there may be evidence of a cardiomyopathy, a valve disorder or a hole in the heart. In general, we only identify […]
