Individuals with genetic high cholesterol, heart disease, or both and who were infected with COVID-19 had more heart attacks according to new research by the FH Foundation. While previous studies have speculated about poorer outcomes if a person with genetic high cholesterol—called familial hypercholesterolemia (FH)—contracts COVID-19, this study from the FH Foundation’s national healthcare database is the first to demonstrate higher heart attack rates in the real world. Published online in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, the study also importantly confirms that COVID-19 increases heart attack rates in individuals with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).
