Table 2. Summary of physicians’ responses to questions about FH knowledge, practice, detection, and awareness.
| N (%) | |
|---|---|
| Knowledge | |
| Correctly described FH | 199 (67.7) |
| Correctly identified the prevalence of heterozygous FH in the general population | 67 (22.8) |
| Correctly identified the transmission rate to first degree relatives | 97 (33) |
| Correctly identified the CVD risk in untreated FH | 15 (5.1) |
| Correctly identified the age threshold for premature CVD in males | 27 (9.2) |
| Correctly identified the age threshold for premature CVD in females | 24 (8.2) |
| Correctly identified that genetic testing was not required to accurately diagnosis FH | 137 (46.6) |
| Correctly identified LDL-C target for adult with FH | 114 (38.8) |
| Correctly identified LDL-C target for FH adults with known CAD or diabetes | 131 (44.6) |
| Selected statins to treat familial hypercholesterolemia | 206 (70.1) |
| Selected a combination of statin and ezetimibe to treat severe hypercholesterolemia | 112 (38.1) |
| Practice | |
| Routinely take a detailed family history, perform physical examination and screen close relatives for all patients with premature CAD | 179 (60.9) |
| Had diagnosed patient with FH | 98 (33.3) |
| Had managed FH patients under their care | 103 (35) |
| Performed routine close relative screening with lipid profile of patients with FH | 153 (52) |
| The most prevalent age for screening young people in kindred with FH was 13–18 years; which was selected by | 122 (41.5) |
| Opinions and detection | |
| Selected family physicians as the most effective health care provider for the early detection of FH | 253 (86.1) |
| Selected laboratory comment on lipid profiles, alert by the clinical software system, and direct telephone call from the laboratory to highlight patients at risk of FH | 125 (42.5) |
| Awareness | |
Aware of the clinical algorithms to diagnose patients with FH
|
58 (19.7) 46 (15.6) 43 (14.6) |
| Aware of the cascade screening for patients with FH | 76 (25.9) |
| Aware of any specialist clinical services for lipid disorders to whom patients can be referred | 136 (46.3) |
Aware of the new medications for FH patients beside statins
|
68 (23.1) 52 (17.7) 35 (11.9) |
Abbreviation: N: number, FH: familial hypercholesterolemia.