Millions allocated to detect life-threatening cholesterol in 27,000 Danes

Good experiences from the Region of Southern Denmark and the Capital Region of Denmark must be used in the fight against hereditary disease.

Around 27,000 Danes suffer from a hereditary and congenital disease that causes elevated cholesterol in the blood.

The disease is called familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), and it can be life-threatening if left untreated.

An agreement between the government and the regions is to ensure better detection of the disease, the Ministry of the Interior and Health writes in a press release.

“We need to become much better at detecting and treating this hereditary disease that causes elevated cholesterol, because it can have fatal consequences if it is not discovered in time.”

“That’s why we are now strengthening the tracing efforts, and this can ultimately help save human lives,” says Minister of the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde (V).

The strengthened efforts to detect the disease must include doctors checking blood samples more systematically.

The Region of Southern Denmark and the Capital Region already have good experience using blood test data to detect the disease.

The two regions have introduced a solution where doctors automatically receive a pop-up message if a patient’s cholesterol level exceeds a certain limit.

The doctor can then refer the patient for further examination at one of the so-called lipid clinics.

The model must now be rolled out to all five regions as soon as possible, according to the agreement between the government and the regions.

The lipid clinics, which examine and treat patients with familial hypercholesterolemia, will also have their capacity increased.

This means that they can examine and treat more patients already this year, the ministry writes in the press release.

Since FH is a hereditary disease, there is a high risk that close family members also have the disease.

Therefore, family tracing is being strengthened through improved and more easily accessible patient information, the ministry writes.

Ten million kroner has been allocated for the strengthened efforts in the years from 2025 to 2028.

ritzau