When I look back over the last 25 years it amazes me how much things have changed. Not so much that there has been progression in healthcare generally, but that there has been progression in the one thing that affects me. The reason I feel this way is, as a 10 year old being told I had something wrong with me that I couldn't see or feel or that no one had ever heard of, I felt as though I was the only person in the world with such a thing.

It all started in 1982 when my Dad was having chest pains. I can't remember how many tests or Doctors visits it took to find out, but he was diagnosed with Angina. As his Father and Brother had already died of heart attacks at a young age they decided to test the rest of the family. Our GP told my Mum not to worry, as it was more likely to be my Dad’s two nephews that would be affected, rather than her two girls. This turned out to be wrong, as the men in the family were given the all clear and my sister and I were the ones with the high cholesterol levels (mine was 11).

Again, my Mum was told not to worry by the GP, as it just meant that she would have to grill our bacon instead of frying it!
Thankfully it didn't end there, we were referred to a specialist who gave us a long list of things that we shouldn't eat and a horrible powder that we had to mix with water and drink every day (Questran - yuk!).

Although my Dad continued to see a specialist every six months, in 1984 he had a massive heart attack and died on the way to the hospital. Although the medication had probably given him more time it was just too late to reverse the damage. He was 38.

Now, as I rapidly approach the same age (I was 35 last month) I realise how luck I am to have found out early enough to take some positive action. It’s so much easier now too, back then no one had heard of cholesterol so it was difficult explaining to people what I had. Not there’s even a name for it (although I can't pronounce it!).

The rest of the world has finally caught up - read any heath/well-being magazine and it will give everyone the same advice that you would give to someone with FH - Don't smoke, don't drink excessively, avoid stress, take plenty of exercise and eat a healthy, low fat diet.

There is much more focus now on what you should eat, rather than what not to eat. Fruit, veg, fish, whole grains, there’s that much food that you should eat to be healthy it’s hard fitting it all in! I'm not saying I'm perfect, there are days that I eat things that I shouldn't but that’s ok, because I eat healthy the rest of the time and I make exercise a part of my lifestyle.
In fact I think I'm one of the luck ones, every week you can read about the damages an unhealthy lifestyle can do and I think that this way of living will probably protect me from a lot of other serious illnesses.

My advice to anybody finding themselves in my position would be to think positive; FH has never stopped me from doing anything I wanted to do and I love my life. I have a great job and a wonderful husband who I married in The Bahamas five years ago. I've ski-ed in Canada, canoed in Venezuela and scuba dived in Australia and if eating healthy and taking statins is what I have to do to continue doing these things for many years to come then I think it’s a small price to pay.

Rachael Grady