Molecular characterization of familial hypercholesterolemia

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Over the past few decades, Coronary artery disease (CAD) has emerged as one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide . There were an estimated 17.5 million deaths in 2005 due to CAD alone, which is expected to increase by 120% in women and 137% in men by 2020 in the developing countries (World health organization, 2005). Of the 24 million people expected to die of heart disease by 2020, about 9.4 million will be between 35-69 years of age which can be avoided with appropriate and timely management. CAD is one of the major causes of death in India . Over the past 40 years, the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in urban Indians has increased by a factor of six to eight, to about 10%, among persons aged between 35- 64 years [Singh et al., 1997]. In non- western countries like India, deaths due to heart diseases tend to occur one or two decades earlier than the western countries . This has been attributed to the increased frequency of metabolic syndrome in the Indians. Obviously both environmental and genetic factors are involved in CHD. It is important to identify the genetic risk factors that cause premature heart diseases, which will facilitate the detection of high-risk individuals at an early stage and manage the disease appropriately.