Overview
Although often considered a problem in adulthood, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) can affect children and teens, especially when there is a genetic cause. Cleveland Clinic Children's Pediatric Lipid Clinic provides assessment and treatment of children and teens with elevated cholesterol, including high triglycerides, high LDL-c (“bad” cholesterol), low HDL-c (“good” cholesterol), high lipoprotein(a) (pronounced “little a”), and evaluation in children who have a family history of severely high cholesterol or family history of early heart attacks. We also specifically manage a genetic type of high cholesterol that runs in families called Familial Hypercholesterolemia.
In addition to helping patients make lifestyle changes to improve food choices and physical activity, our Lipid Clinic providers may also prescribe medications to help bring patients’ cholesterol down to a safe level.
Our clinic involves a multidisciplinary approach, with a collaboration between our physicians and registered dieticians who provide additional consultation and advice
Learn how to manage and treat high cholesterol in children.
Screening Guidelines
Who should be referred?
Providers should consider referring pediatric patients with any of the following findings on their cholesterol (lipid) panels or concerning family history:
- LDL-c ≥130 mg/dL
- Triglyceride levels ≥500 mg/dL on single check, or consistently ≥250 mg/dL on fasting labs
- Total cholesterol >240 mg/dL
- Family history of early myocardial infarction (MI)/heart attack, cerebrovascular accident (CVA)/stroke, particularly in a first degree relative; <age 55 y.o. for men, and < age 65 for women
- Family history of LDL-c ≥ 190 mg/dL or total cholesterol >240 mg/dL in first degree relative, if patient’s LDL-c level is abnormal
- Elevated lipoprotein(a) ≥ 50 mg/dL
Additional guidance for cardiac prevention:
- Pediatric patients who have overweight or obesity status, or associated medical conditions including high blood sugars, and normal lipids may be best served in our Be Well Clinic.
- Pediatric patients with elevated blood pressures or hypertension, and normal lipids, may be best served by our Pediatric Nephrology team.
Our Team
Christina Fink, MD
Hillcrest Medical Office Building
Christina Fink, MD, is a board-certified general pediatric cardiologist in both internal medicine and pediatrics (2017). She completed her fellowship at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, where she gained experience managing the care of inpatients and outpatients with a wide range of cardiac conditions. She continues to cultivate her special interest in caring for patients with congenital heart diseases. Dr. Fink also is a diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology, practicing as a clinical lipidologist through caring for patients with cholesterol abnormalities, which fits her philosophy of care to not only treat, but also slow and prevent disease. Further adding to her mindset of preventative medicine, Dr. Fink became board certified in obesity management to help her patients make changes to avoid developing cardiovascular disease among hundreds of other obesity-associated conditions.
Clare O'Hare, MD
Fairview Medical Office Building
Clare O'Hare, MD, is a board-certified pediatric cardiologist, current staff member of Cleveland Clinic Children's and assistant professor of pediatrics at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Before joining CCF faculty in 2022, Dr. O'Hare completed her general pediatrics training at Children's Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI followed by her general pediatric cardiology training at Washington University in St Louis, MO. She then completed an additional year of advanced cardiac training in non-invasive imaging. During her advanced training, her clinical interest in dyslipidemia grew as she learned to evaluate and manage pediatric patients with abnormal lipid panels through hands-on experience. As an active member of the National Lipid Association, she has completed advanced clinical courses and is working on her board certification in lipidology. She believes optimizing heart health in childhood is a fundamental aspect of living a healthy life and therefore is proud to lead the cardiology lipid clinic at Fairview Hospital.
Hanna Leikin, RD
Hillcrest Medical Office Building
Hanna Leikin is a pediatric Registered Dietitian, who is also a board-certified specialist in pediatric nutrition. She currently services the ambulatory nutrition needs at the Hillcrest Medical Office Building for Cleveland Clinic Children’s. In this position she provides direct patient care counseling to children with a variety of medical conditions including but not limited to gastrointestinal, cardiac, endocrine, eating disorders and neonatal. She takes interest in dyslipidemia, preventative care and wellness and works as the primary Registered Dietitian in our lipid clinic developing specific cholesterol lowering recommendations in a multi-disciplinary approach. From her work with our Be-Well team in treating childhood obesity, her interest in dyslipidemia grew as she tried to find better ways to manage patient’s comorbidities to improve lifelong outcomes.
