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SCREEN SIBLINGS OF PATIENTS WITH PREMATURE CORONARY DISEASE.

One of the problems with designing a screening program is identifying populations for which the yield would make such a program worthwhile. These investigators examined the prevalence of coronary risk factors in 150 apparently disease-free siblings of patients who developed coronary disease before age 60 and found that this sibling population would benefit greatly from screening.

More than 40 percent of siblings had hypertension, 45 percent of brothers and 22 percent of sisters had lipid abnormalities, and 38 percent of siblings were smokers. Plasma lipids levels and blood pressures were considerably higher in the siblings than in a matched reference population. More than 75 percent of siblings had at least one risk factor that would require intervention, yet they were generally unaware of this.

These data indicate that apparently healthy siblings of patients with premature coronary disease are not only at high risk of coronary disease themselves, but are not likely to report symptoms and thus should be screened.

— THL

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine November 15, 1988

Citation(s):

Becker D M; Becker L C; Pearson T A; Fintel D J; Levine D M; Kwiterovich P O. Risk factors in siblings of people with premature coronary heart disease. J Am Coll Cardiol 1988 Nov 12 1273-1280.

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