Obesity rates in children have increased fourfold since the early 1970s. Now, nearly one out of five kids is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the National Center for Health Statistics. Along with high cholesterol, obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease, which kills one person every 37 seconds and is the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Heart Association.
"There is a large discussion of obesity in America because this is the first generation of children that has a lower life expectancy than their parents' generation," said Dr. Daniel Levy, a pediatrician and the national spokesman for the academy. "The principal reason for that is more children are obese."
Doctors hope to fight mortality rates from heart disease by tracking high-risk kids and intervening at a younger age. Studies, however, are unclear in establishing a childhood cholesterol threshold that predicts heart disease in adulthood.
"There is a higher concern about obesity these days, but this report is not specifically about obesity," said Dr. Stephen Daniels, pediatrician-in-chief at The Children's Hospital in Denver and the other author of the report. "Many kids with high cholesterol are not overweight, and in these cases, there's usually a strong genetic component."
That was certainly the case with Miller, whose mother asked that his high school and residence not be disclosed.
His father and mother both have high cholesterol, as well as his paternal grandmother.
He often experienced shortness of breath when exercising, which his parents attributed to mild asthma and a slight heart murmur. He then complained of fatigue and double vision on the playing field. His parents took him to a cardiologist and were shocked to discover the gravity of his condition.
At age 15, Miller had developed significant stenosis, a narrowing of a blood vessel, above his aortic valve - a condition typically seen in middle-aged individuals with a history of heart disease. In addition, his coronary arteries, the vessels that bring blood to the heart muscle, were almost completely clogged by calcium deposits.
Miller underwent heart surgery in 2006 to repair his aortic valve and to clear his coronary arteries. Soon after, he was diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia - a genetic disorder characterized by high cholesterol levels affecting one out of 500 children in the United States.
