The Heritable Hyperlipoproteinemias and Atherosclerosis

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Abstract
Hyperlipidemia can be caused by occasional or constant environmental factors, by genetic factors, by other primary diseases, or by various combinations (11–14, 16, 17, 28, 36, 37, 46, 48, 54, 57). Probably less than 10% of individuals from free living populations whose plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations are a-voe the upper 95th percentile are carriers of genes for familial hyperlipoproteinemia (6, 46). A large numerical majority of individuals with hyperlipidemia have acquired the disorder primarily through diet, excessive alcohol intake, drugs, or other primary disease states (most frequently diabetes, hypothyroidism, nephrotic syndrome, liver disease). Hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia acquired secondary to dietary habits are highly sensitive to minor changes in habitual life style. For the most part, the familial hyperlipoproteinemias require major changes in dietary habits and often the conjunction of diet and drug therapy is required to normalize blood lipids.