Hiding in Plain Sight? A Focus on Diagnosing and Addressing the Unmet Needs in Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia (HoFH)

TARGET AUDIENCE:
This educational activity has been designed to meet the needs of cardiology physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals interested in the diagnosis and management of HoFH.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
HoFH is a genetic disorder of lipid metabolism causing severely elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations that lead to early onset atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and increased cardiovascular events and mortality. Individuals with HoFH are typically less responsive, or even unresponsive, to standard lipid-lowering therapies such as statins and PCSK9 inhibitors, and may benefit from treatment modalities with other mechanisms of action. This curriculum is designed to educate clinicians about the prevalence of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) and HoFH, the importance of screening for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), and the benefits and limitations of therapies available for lipid management in patients with HoFH. The multidisciplinary faculty of nationally recognized FH experts will provide practical, evidence-based information to attendees regarding strategies that increase patient accessibility to newer lipid-lowering therapies.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this educational activity, participants should be able to:
• Describe the prevalence of HoFH and its underdiagnosis
• Discuss how to apply cascade screening in clinical practice as a cost-effective strategy to diagnose FH in close relatives of patients already diagnosed with FH
• Outline how to integrate currently available therapies with novel mechanisms of action into the treatment regimen of patients with HoFH
• Explain how to increase accessibility of newer LDL-C lowering therapies to patients with HoFH