Finding out if high cholesterol is inherited could save a life, St. Paul's doctor says

Fifty-five-year-old Fred Hazen says learning about a genetic condition that stalks his family is probably the reason he’s alive today.

His younger brother is already gone — dead at 46 after years of declining health following his first heart attack in his 20s caused by super-high levels of cholesterol.

“Understanding the (condition) to start with — and the treatments — I believe that has really extended my life,” Hazen explained in a recent telephone interview from his home in the Kamloops in B.C.’s Interior. “My cholesterol is just about normal now.”

Erin Ellis reports.

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