February 8, 2023

Amy Yonda is active and eats healthy, but she still has to worry about her cholesterol.

Yonda was born with Familial Hypercholesterolemia, also known as FH, a common genetic disorder that puts her at a higher risk of heart disease at a younger age.

“I’ve known that I had FH since I was just two years old,” said Yonda, a patient of The Dr. David Mymin Clinic here at St. Boniface Hospital, who is now in her 30s.

FH affects how the body regulates and removes cholesterol from a person’s blood.

“The first thing I always hear from people is ‘you’re way too young, there’s no way you have high cholesterol!’, or ‘you’re fit and eat well’,” Yonda said.

“And I think that is one of the biggest stigmas, that people think I have to be a certain age or body type,” she said.

Yonda is sharing her story to raise awareness during Heart Month, a time to bring more attention to cardiovascular health.

“High cholesterol is typically seen as an older person’s condition but FH is a common genetic disorder seen in one in 250 Canadians, so it’s pretty common,” said Eva Stephens, a registered nurse at The Dr. David Mymin Clinic at St. Boniface Hospital.

“People who have FH are born with it and when blood vessels are exposed to high levels of cholesterol that can pre-dispose them to premature heart disease,” said Stephens.

Yonda has been receiving care at The Dr. David Mymin Clinic for most of her adult life.

“When my LDL wasn’t low enough I got referred to a specialist when I was a young child, and then when I was 18 years old I was referred to Dr. David Mymin,” Yonda said.

Dr. David Mymin, the founder of the clinic, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away in July of 2021 at age 92.

His friends and colleagues recently commemorated his legacy at an event hosted by the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation this past January.

“He was a great cardiologist, really great in the research and a really good advocate for FH,” Yonda said adding she will remember him fondly.

Yonda said her FH was passed down to her by her father who died after a heart attack just a day before his 35th birthday.

While she feels healthy today, she said there’s been many ups and downs, including times when her blood work showed her cholesterol levels weren’t low enough.

“Super frustrating, I remember getting a ton of anxiety, was my diet good enough, or was I active enough?” she said. “I was really hard on myself.”

Yonda is on medication to keep her cholesterol levels in check and has made many lifestyle changes.

“Since I was two years old, I’ve been on a low-fat diet, so limiting my saturated fats, limiting red meat, butter or any sort of lard.”

She jokes that she didn’t see the inside of a McDonalds for a long time, thanks to her mother Patricia Yonda.

“Growing up my mom has definitely made a huge impact on my life,” she said. “My mom was a widow with a young infant but was just such a rock, and just a really good advocate for me and my health, I don’t know how I can thank her for that.”

Yonda says she is in a good place now and feels great.

“I feel like a normal person. My LDL (low density lipoprotein) is phenomenal, and I’m over the moon excited about it!” she said.

Part of her journey now is encouraging others to talk to their family members about their medical history, and get a blood test.

“FH is common and not caught as often as it should be,” she added. “Talk to your family doctor because early detection is key.”

Yonda also has a message to others who are living with FH. “I want people to know that it’s not their fault, it is just something that is passed down, and I really want people to know that they’re not alone,” Yonda said.

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