The Canadian Paediatric Society is recommending universal cholesterol screening for all children between the ages of two and 10 years to protect against future cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Michael Kouhry, a paediatric cardiologist and associate professor at the University of Alberta, says the foundations of heart disease are laid in childhood. He says high cholesterol levels in children are usually clinically silent but easy to detect with simple blood tests.

One in 300 Canadians has “familial hypercholesterolemia,” a genetic condition that contributes to lifelong severe cholesterol elevations from childhood.

The condition, dubbed FH, is easy to diagnose and to treat says Dr. Kouhry, “and doing so from childhood can normalize the risk of early heart attacks and strokes in adulthood.”

He says finding affected children will allow doctors to screen patients and other first-degree family members, potentially reducing heart disease risk for the whole family.

Treatment can include dietary and lifestyle changes, and/or medication.