Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. (HDL, Inc.) Partners With The Familial Hypercholesterolemia Foundation to Announce the First National FH Awareness Day

RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. (HDL, Inc.), a CAP accredited leader in health management, announced today that it will partner with The Familial Hypercholesterolemia Foundation (The FH Foundation) in observation of the first National FH Awareness Day on September 20, 2012.

"Health Diagnostic Laboratory feels that it is essential to better educate today's medical leaders about the need to identify hidden risk factors for cardiovascular and related diseases early in an effort to prevent and reverse life-threatening conditions," said Tonya Mallory, CEO and co-founder of HDL, Inc. "FH is responsible for 20% of all heart attacks in people 45 and younger, making it a genetic disorder that we must beat."

Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited, life threatening, genetic disorder affecting 1 in 500 individuals worldwide and in some ethnic groups the numbers can be as high as 1 out of every 80 to 100. This particular genetic disorder results in the body's inability to clear cholesterol from the blood, causing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to reach startlingly high levels. When left untreated, FH causes early and aggressive heart disease increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

"FH has long been an invisible disease. Only 10-20% of people with FH are aware and being treated," said Katherine Wilemon, founder of The Familial Hypercholesterolemia Foundation. Wilemon, who herself lives with FH, suffered a heart attack at 39.

"Over half a million people in the US alone have this disease and are at risk of having a heart attack in the prime of their lives," said Wilemon.

Being a genetic disorder, this means that if even only one parent has FH, they have a 50% chance of passing it to each of their children. In its most severe form, when FH has been inherited from both parents, children will experience advanced heart disease before reaching their teenage years. FH is often treatable and studies show that with proper treatment, the risk of heart disease can be reduced to levels similar to those of the general population.

In preparation of FH Awareness Day, The FH Foundation, supported by Health Diagnostic Laboratory, is hosting 30 days of FH educational messages at www.thefhfoundation.org. The FH Foundation Board President, Katherine Wilemon and Jamie Underberg, M.D., will be conducting a media tour in New York on September 20, 2012 at Path1Communications, to raise awareness of FH.

The FH Foundation is an approved 501 (c)(3) corporation. For more information, visit www.thefhfoundation.org.

About Health Diagnostic Laboratories, Inc.

Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc., a CAP accredited leader in health management, offers a comprehensive test menu of risk factors and biomarkers for cardiovascular and related diseases. Our systematic approach identifies factors contributing to disease and provides a basis for effective personalized treatment, allowing physicians to more effectively manage patients. As an added value, patients receive a personalized overview of their risk factors along with intensive counseling from expert Health Coaches at no additional cost, improving compliance and enhancing potential outcomes.  More information: www.myhdl.com.

SOURCE HDL, Inc.