Cardiovascular Health 

Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH)

FH is a codominant genetic disorder that occurs due to mutations in the gene for the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor. This disease, which affects approximately 1 in 500 people, results in high levels of LDL cholesterol and is associated with a high risk of early coronary heart disease. More information about FH can be found at the website of Med-Ped, a non-profit project funded to help treat individuals and families with inherited high cholesterol disorders.

Heart Disease and Stroke

Heart disease and stroke are among the nation's leading causes of death and major causes of disability, and these conditions can be expected to increase sharply as this country's "baby boom" generation ages. Yet these conditions are largely preventable. As expressed in the Steps to a Healthier US initiative from Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson, the long-term solution for our nation's health care crisis requires embracing prevention as the first step. To reverse the epidemic of heart disease and stroke through increasingly effective prevention, action is needed now.

A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke addresses this urgent need for action. Key partners, public health experts, and heart disease and stroke prevention specialists came together to develop targeted recommendations and specific action steps toward achievement of this goal, through a process convened by CDC and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Resources

American Heart Association (AHA)
CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP)
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Tools

(materials coming soon)