 Some studies of FH cohorts suggest that additional risk factors are generally at play when a person develops atherosclerosis.In addition to the classic risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, and diabetes, genetic studies have shown that a common abnormality in the prothrombin gene (G20210A) increases the risk of cardiovascular events in people with FH.Several studies found that a high level of lipoprotein(a) was an additional risk factor for ischemic heart disease.