a registered dietitian, so I felt like I had the eating-healthy aspect down pat. I was taking my medications. I was being active and exercising. But it was never enough.”
People with FH have 20 times the risk of developing heart disease if they are not treated, the American Heart Association says.
Men with FH develop heart disease 10 to 20 years earlier than expected, and women 20 to 30 years sooner, according to the AHA. Half of men with untreated FH will have a heart attack or angina before they turn 50.
“Unlike patients who develop high cholesterol later in life, these patients are born with extremely high cholesterol levels, even during childhood,” says Dr. Anandita Kulkarni, a preventive cardiologist in Plano, Texas. “It’s not only how high the cholesterol is, but the duration of time for which the cholesterol is elevated that impacts their risk for heart disease.”
Gradney lost his father to a sudden heart attack one morning in 2004. Five months later, he suffered chest pains that made him fear he was having a heart attack himself.
“I woke up one morning and I just felt like my heart was going to explode, you know?” says Gradney, who underwent open heart surgery in 2005.
Eight years later, after learning he was in serious danger again, Gradney decided to take matters into his own hands.
Through an uncle, Gradney contacted a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins who agreed to see him. After three days of testing, the doctor diagnosed him with FH.
“Once that was diagnosed, just like that all the dominoes fell into place,” Gradney shares. “Everybody knew