Family history, not lifestyle, may cause high cholesterol in some kids

[KSTP TV, February 08, 2015] You'll find Grayce Limpert at the gym in St. Louis Park several nights a week. She is young and active. You would never be able to tell that this 16-year-old has a cholesterol problem, which is why we are telling you.

Grace has a disease called familial hypercholesterolemia, or FH. FH makes it difficult for her body to remove low-density lipoproteins, or "bad cholesterol," from her blood. Most people don't associate high cholesterol problems with kids, which is why so many FH cases go undetected.

Dr. Thomas Knickelbine of the Minneapolis Heart Institute looks for it. "We need to find your children and get them screened for this disorder, and that doesn't happen a lot," Knickelbine said.