Get tested for hereditary high cholesterol

38-year-old Mariëlle Wijmenga has known since she was fifteen that she has familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). She has been taking medication for it ever since. How does FH affect her life and that of her family?

In 1983, Mariëlle's father died of cardiac arrest at the age of 35. He knew he had high cholesterol, but there were no treatment options available at the time. "I was six years old at the time and my cholesterol was not tested, but my sister also had heart problems at a young age. When she was 21, her cholesterol was found to be too high. She was then diagnosed with FH by the Foundation for the Detection of Hereditary Hypercholesterolemia."