A Mother's Day Wish
I founded the FH Foundation after surviving a heart attack at the age of 39. I left the hospital without any explanation of how my heart disease could have gone unnoticed or why a heart attack had occurred. It was nearly three years later before I was formally diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). When I learned that each of my children had a 50% chance of inheriting FH, I committed to being the catalyst for finding all families with FH.
My desire was to
empower a community
of people impacted by FH, as well as clinicians and scientists, to
advance research and understanding of FH
. In less than a year, we established
FH Awareness Day
and an annual
FH Global Summit
. For the past seven years, these two events have been central in raising awareness and convening leaders from around the world to join forces in addressing FH as a public health concern.
The FH Foundation established and maintains a national FH Registry. From this research we now know
that the average age of diagnosis of FH is 47. That average age of diagnosis only accounts for the lucky 1 out of 10 people in the United States who even get diagnosed.
Meanwhile, the statistics are sobering. More than 20% of individuals with FH will have a cardiac event before the age of 45. Families with FH are not getting the information, the treatments, and the care they need in time.
The mission of the FH Foundation is to save lives
.
All of our work revolves around our commitment to find
every
individual with FH, whether it is through research, partnerships with health care systems to improve diagnosis and care, public health awareness campaigns, or direct support of FH individuals and their families. We know that having a name for their condition allows individuals to get the knowledge and the care they need early enough to add not just years, but decades, to their lives.
The toll of undiagnosed and under-treated FH is devastating for families.
FH cannot be cured, but heart disease can be prevented.
We need your support to stop heart disease before it starts and to advocate so that the FH community is no longer left behind, unnamed and under-diagnosed.
Please
donate today
in honor of all the mothers in your life and our community.
We can only continue our work with your support.
