Familial hypercholesterolaemia is an inherited condition in which variants in certain genes affect the liver’s ability to process low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which can lead to premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases.

Raised cholesterol may indicate an underlying genetic condition called familial hypercholesterolaemia, which confers a significant risk of premature cardiovascular disease.

Sudden cardiac death at a young age can be caused by inherited cardiac conditions, such as cardiomyopathies and inherited arrhythmia syndromes. If an underlying genetic cause is identified in an autopsy, family members should be referred for predictive genomic testing.

Cardiomyopathy is a general term for conditions of the heart muscle that make it harder for blood to be pumped around the body. Around 40%–60% of cases are familial.