Category: News

Self-advocating with your GP or other health provider can be challenging but incredibly rewarding, allowing you control over your healthcare. Here are some strategies to help you effectively communicate and advocate for yourself ensuring you receive optimal FH medical care: Understand Your Condition Before your appointment, take the time to thoroughly understand Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH)…

FH Australia is pleased to join the Global Heart Hub alliance of heart-focused patient organisations. Our respective missions are aligned to advocate on behalf of our patient community for the best possible outcomes and seek innovative and best practice interventions and solutions; and to be included as an equal stakeholder in healthcare strategy. Read more…

Back in May, FH Australia posted about our putting our patient voice behind the national advocacy efforts encouraging government to legislate a total ban on the use of genetic results in life insurance underwriting.  Advocates have campaigned for almost a decade for this change; so it was with considerable satisfaction and relief that in September…

Dr Andrew Martin is a general paediatrician at Perth Children’s Hospital. Andrew has made major contributions to paediatric FH within Australia. He led the publication of the first national guidelines for paediatric FH in 2012 and established a clinical service for paediatric FH in Western Australia (WA). In recent years he has focussed his efforts…

Healthy eating principles rely on eating a combination of foods and not relying on one sole type of food or nutrient or functional food. Adopting healthy eating patterns for all the family is sustainable if changes are made gradually. The style of eating helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality by…

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is ostensibly a simple disorder to treat, but in fact, when you get into it, it’s a complex disorder and best management requires multiple skillsets. Nurses, genetic counsellors, dietitians, cardiologists and of course, general practitioners – they all play key roles in the care of FH individuals. Hence, it is critical that…

In support of FH Awareness Day, don’t miss this opportunity to hear from Fiona Stanley Hospital cardiologist, Dr Nick Lan, as he talks about how cholesterol affects your heart and what you can do to keep your heart in tip-top shape. Nick is also a Clinical Senior Lecturer at The University of Western Australia and…

In the context of Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH), the Index case is the first person in a family branch to be genetically diagnosed with the condition. The genetic test will have revealed the mutation/variant present in one of the four genes that typically cause FH for that person. The Index case’s genetic test is the first…

About 3 years ago, I learned that Statins alone were not having an impact on lowering my lifelong burden of LDL cholesterol driven by FH. This was in spite of years of Statin therapy (begun as a young adult), good weight management, a significant exercise regime and a Mediterranean diet.  My health clinician recommended that…

FH Australia, as the voice for all Australians living with inherited high cholesterols, is committed to advocating at all levels for the inclusion of FH in the health policy landscape. One of the ways we do this is to provide submissions to consultations or draft service plans in all areas that impact FH. In May…