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Latvijas Ģimenes hiperholesterinēmijas reģistrs

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To manage that patients and their relatives could be diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) in due time, the cascade screenings* are under way and the Latvian Registry of Familial Hypercholesterolemia (LRFH) has been established through the collaboration of the Institute of Cardiology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Latvia (ICRM UL) and the Cardiology Centre of the P. Stradins Clinical University Hospital (PSCUH) within the National Research Program.

This allows patients to access consultations given by qualified cardiologists who are trained in diagnosing this illness and are capable to assess whether it is necessary to commence preventive measures; furthermore, the specialist can also help to find out whether this illness is inherited affecting other family members. Since the beginning of 2015, the LRFH has helped to diagnose almost 200 patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.

Registry’s team

The patient consultations at the Registry take place in a team work where along with Prof. Gustavs Latkovskis, the founder and the head of the LRFH, there are several new and future professionals working for the Registry as well as experienced cardiologists.

LRFH’s team

Prof. Gustavs Latkovskis

Certified clinical and invasive cardiologist; head of the LRFH, leading researcher at the ICRM UL

dr. Vita Saripo

Certified cardiologist, internist, consulting cardiologist at the LRFH

dr. Dainus Gilis

Cardiology resident

dr. Ruta Meiere

Certified cardiologist, consulting cardiologist at the LRFH

dr. Georgijs Nesterovics

Cardiology resident

dr. Elizabete Terauda

Cardiology resident

How to diagnose familial hypercholesterolemia?

Once the patient has gotten into touch with the Registry’s specialist by calling the consultation line (see below) and once information provided by the patient or his or her physician is assessed, he or she is invited for an outpatient visit at the Latvian Cardiology Centre. During the visit, the specialist and the patient addresses early cardiovascular diseases and analyze the patient’s personal medical history – highest registered cholesterol indicators, changes thereof as a result of therapy, results from other tests that may indicate diseases, as well as results from previous cardiovascular tests if there are such, etc.
Based on the information obtained, the possibility to diagnose familial hypercholesterolemia is determined by the use of an internationally approved scale – certain/plausible/possible FH. Thereafter, the patient attends a consultation by a certified cardiologist regarding the path of further examinations and treatment; during the consultation, the patient is also advised on healthy life style. Since the disease is genetically inherited, if the patient is diagnosed with certain or plausible FH, there is 50% chance that the same disease will affect his or her first-degree relatives (parents, children, brothers and sisters).
In cooperation with the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, the patients, as far as their finances allow, undergo genetic tests which are highly important in order to get an accurate diagnosis.

A chance for patients to enjoy healthy and qualitative life

LRFH admits patients with a goal to pay them more attention over the span of a prolonged period with regular visits and cardiologist’s supervision whenever necessary. The core purpose of the LRFH is to ensure as effective primary preventive care as possible (treatment before cardiovascular diseases even appear) and to allow patients and their family members to have healthy and qualitative life.
Successful cooperation with the patient’s general practitioner is also rather essential. Therefore, in order to inform fellow physicians, information and conclusions from these visits are then transmitted to the patient’s general practitioner (with the patient’s previous consent).

Consultation line

At the LRFH, there is a consultation line for physicians and patients so that they could book a consultation with the Registry’s specialist in case the patient has diagnosed FH or there is reasoned suspicion as to such a risk.

Phone number: 25449674, on business days from 8:30AM to 5PM