​                         Professor Francisco Leyva-León

Family history of heart disease

You may feel perfectly well, but you may be aware of a family history of heart disease, either coronary heart disease (heart attacks or angina), a high cholesterol level or sudden cardiac death from a rhythm problem.



You should consult your GP and cardiologist about assessing the risks of these conditions and ways to minimise that risk. The following are some of the conditions that may run in families:

​

• Coronary heart disease

• High cholesterol and other lipid disorders

• Sudden cardiac disease of unknown cause

• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

• Dilated cardiomyopathy

• Long QT syndrome

• Brugada syndrome

• Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC or ARVD)

The risk of developing these conditions can be assessed using various cardiac risk assessments. Various agencies currently provide gene tests for cardiac conditions. You are strongly advised to involve a cardiologist if you are considering these tests.