Finding and testing family members for familial high cholesterol (FH)
Official title: Identification Methods, Patient Activation, and Cascade Testing for FH: IMPACT-FH
Funded at Geisinger Clinic · NIH-11393470 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tries new ways to find people with familial high cholesterol, help them take action, and offer testing to relatives so affected families can start treatment earlier.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Geisinger Clinic NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Danville, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2019 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $47,830 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HL148246-06S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11393470 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with very high LDL cholesterol, a family history of early heart disease, or first-degree relatives of someone diagnosed with FH.
✕Less likely to help
People without genetic risk for FH, those whose clinicians or local clinics are not participating, or adopted individuals who cannot contact biological relatives may not get direct benefit from the cascade-testing strategies.
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, this work focuses on finding people with familial high cholesterol (FH), encouraging them to act, and offering testing to their relatives (cascade testing) so families can be treated earlier. The team will adapt methods that worked at Geisinger genetic clinics for use in primary care and in other health systems. They will measure how much these programs cost and whether they can be maintained long-term. The overall aim is to make FH screening and family testing practical and sustainable across different clinics so more people at risk for early heart disease are found and treated.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, more people with FH and their relatives could be identified earlier and start cholesterol-lowering treatment to reduce risk of premature heart disease.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier IMPACT-FH work at Geisinger showed promising results in genetic specialty clinics, but applying these approaches in primary care and other health systems is a newer step.
Where this research is happening
-
Geisinger Clinic
Danville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Morales Reyes, Ana — Geisinger Clinic
- Study coordinator: Morales Reyes, Ana
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.