Achilles tendon thickness in hypercholesterolaemia.

The maximum thickness of the achilles tendon was measured by radiographic technique in twenty-six hypercholesterolaemic patients and thirty-four controls. There were thirteen patients with diagnostic criteria of familial hypercholesterolaemia. All achilles tendons except one of the familial hypercholesterolaemic patients were thicker than normal, but in the non familial hypercholesterolaemic group the thickness of achilles tendons was within normal limits. Achilles tendon thickness and age were positively correlated in II A familial type patients, but not in controls or in the non-familial group. A strongly positive correlation between Achilles tendon thickness and the age multiplied by the serum cholesterol level was seen in familial type II A patients. The Achilles tendon thickness and serum HDL-cholesterol concentration were not correlated. The radiographic measurement of Achilles tendon thickness seems to be a useful procedure for detecting familial hypercholesterolaemia.