Genetic testing for familial hypercholesterolemia among survivors of acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND

Familial hypercholesterolemia could be prevalent among patients with acute coronary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate both the frequency of causative mutations for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and the optimal selection of patients for genetic testing among patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

METHODS

One hundred and sixteen patients with an ACS during 2009-2015 were identified through the SWEDEHEART registry. Patients who had either a high total cholesterol level ≥7 mmol L combined with a triglyceride level ≤2.6 mmol L , or were treated with lipid-lowering medication and had a total cholesterol level >4.9 mmol L and a triglyceride level ≤2.6 mmol L were included. Genetic testing was performed first with a regionally designed FH mutation panel (118 mutations), followed by testing with a commercially available FH genetic analysis (Progenika Biopharma).

RESULTS

A total of 6.9% (8/116) patients had a FH-causative mutation, all in the LDL-receptor. Five patients were detected on the panel, and further testing of the remaining 111 patients detected an additional 3 FH-causative mutations. Baseline characteristics were similar in FH-positive and FH-negative patients with respect to age, gender, prior ACS and diabetes. Patients with a FH-causative mutation had higher Dutch Lipid Clinical Network (DLCN) score (5.5 (5.0-6.5) vs 3.0 (2.0-5.0), P < 0.001) and a higher low-density lipoprotein level (5.7 (4.7-6.5) vs 4.9 (3.5-5.4), P = 0.030). The Dutch Lipid Clinical Network (DLCN) score had a good discrimination with an area under the curve of 0.856 (95% CI 0.763-0.949).

CONCLUSION

Genetic testing for FH should be considered in patients with ACS and high DLCN score.