In conversation with Daan van Twist – vascular physician at Zuyderland Medical Center

Dr. Daan van Twist is a vascular physician at Zuyderland Medical Center. He considers it a major advantage that joining the LEEFH network allows access to LEEFH's nationwide network and enables more people with FH to be identified.

“Becoming a LEEFH center in 2019 is a major step forward.”

Zuyderland Medical Center is a top clinical training hospital (STZ) with hospital locations in Geleen and Heerlen. In terms of patient numbers, it is one of the largest cardiovascular centers in the Netherlands. The analysis and treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia takes place in the vascular internal medicine department. Dr. Daan van Twist (left in the photo) and Guy Mostard are vascular physicians here. "We have been caring for people with FH here for a long time, but becoming a LEEFH center in 2019 is a big step forward," says Daan van der Twist. "It allows us to make use of LEEFH's large, nationwide network, for example in identifying people with FH. When we find someone with FH, they take on the task of informing the family and actively approaching them. This greatly increases the chance that family members will ultimately get tested."

Letter with information

Before Zuyderland became a LEEFH center, it was unclear whether family members were being informed about LEEFH. “We gave newly diagnosed FH patients a letter with information. It was then up to the patient to decide whether to share this with their family. The question then remains whether family members who receive such a letter will do anything with it or simply put it aside. You would want to check this, but unfortunately we don't have the capacity to do so. We have noticed that the results are greatly improved when people are actively called by someone who explains FH, as LEEFH now does. Their role is crucial. Knowing that you have FH, medication, and a healthy lifestyle can extend your life by about twenty years. That message gets through."

Healthy and fit

According to the doctor, people with FH are a special group. "They are generally very healthy and fit people, completely different from the rest of our patients who encounter many problems in daily life due to their cardiovascular disease. The fact that people with FH do not experience any symptoms makes it difficult. You cannot feel FH, which leads some people to believe that there is nothing wrong. I see it as my job as a doctor to talk to them about this and explain the importance of taking statins. For example, I always tell them that without treatment, people with FH have an 80% chance of developing cardiovascular disease before the age of 60 and a 50% chance of doing so before the age of 50. That often motivates them to start taking medication after all."