Boca Raton Cardiologist and Cholesterol Expert Dr. Seth J. Baum To Be Featured On Sirius Radio Show

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Feb. 24, 2014 - PRLog -- Noted Boca Raton Cardiologist and cholesterol expert, Dr. Seth J. Baum appeared on Doctor Radio on SiriusXM 81 on February 24, 2014.  Dr. Baum was asked to appear on the show to speak about FH, commonly known within medical circles as Familial Hypercholesterolemia.  Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder caused by a defect on chromosome 19.

The defect makes the body unable to remove low density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol from the blood. This results in high levels of LDL in the blood. High levels of LDL cholesterol make you more likely to have narrowing of the arteries from atherosclerosis at an early age. Those with familial hypercholesterolemia are more likely to have a family history of high cholesterol and heart disease at a younger age than normal.

Patients with Familial Hypercholesterolemia possess a genetic defect that disrupts their LDL receptors.  In some cases the patient manufactures too few receptors; in others, the receptors themselves are defective. Even though they capture LDL, these receptors are unable to successfully bring their cargo into the cell. This defect results in a situation wherein the cell “effectively” lacks LDL receptors. There are two types of FH patients, those who have inherited one faulty gene from one parent (the common variety – 1 in 500) and those who have inherited one faulty gene from both parents (the extraordinarily rare form – 1 in 1,000,000). When an individual receives an abnormal gene from only one parent, he or she is known as heterozygous for the particular genetic flaw involved.  An individual is homozygous for a disorder when both parents contribute abnormal genes.  Because of the nature of the FH genetic defect, heterozygous individuals–those possessing only one genetic error from one parent–will experience the disorder, albeit in a less aggressive form than their homozygous counterparts.  As this defect causes suboptimal LDL receptors, patients develop extraordinarily high LDL cholesterol levels.  A typical heterozygous patient will have an LDL cholesterol in the 200s.  Homozygotes have LDL cholesterols over 500!  So here is the problem.  From conception on, FH patients’ bodies are bombarded with excess LDL cholesterol. Their arteries, tendons, eyes… everything is soaked in cholesterol.  In contrast to patients who do not have this disorder, afflicted individuals have a markedly prolonged burden of high LDL. They bathe in cholesterol their entire life.  That is why these individuals develop premature cardiovascular disease.  In fact, patients with FH have a 12-fold higher risk of coronary artery disease compared with their own unaffected relatives.  FH patients have a 50% mortality by the age of 60 if they are inadequately treated.  And even more frightening, FH patients typically live their lives in the dark, undiagnosed and untreated.  Without being properly recognized, appropriate and life-saving care cannot possibly be rendered.  Thus, our charge is crystal clear: Doctors must improve our ability to identify these patients early on in life and by so doing treat them appropriately and diminish their risk of dying young.

Dr. Baum is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American College of Preventive Medicine and the National Lipid Association. He is one of a handful of Cardiologists in the USA who are Diplomates of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology. He is a Founding Physician/Scientist Member of the Society for Cardiovascular CT and is board certified in Cardiovascular CT. He lectures extensively in the fields of Lipidology, Preventive Cardiology, and Integrative Cardiology. Deeply involved in the field of Omega-3 fatty acids, Dr. Baum serves as treasurer of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL). In July of 2011, Dr. Baum was appointed Director of Women’s Preventive Cardiology at The Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health and Wellness Center, Boca Raton Regional Hospital. His responsibilities include both developing and overseeing this program. In March 2012 he was elected Secretary of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC). In April 2012, Dr. Baum chaired the ASPC’s First Annual Southeastern Conference on CVD Prevention in Women. In June, 2012 Dr. Baum took an active role in the bi-annual ISSFAL meeting in Vancouver, Canada giving a plenary lecture and chairing two additional sessions.

You may visit Dr. Seth J. Baum at Preventive Cardiology Inc. at http://www.preventivecardiologyinc.com