Christos Soteriou was 29 when he needed a quadruple bypass surgery. Four arteries in his heart had become so clogged with plaque that blood could no longer flow through them. It’s a surprisingly young age to need such a surgery, but extremely high levels of cholesterol run in Soteriou’s family — a genetic condition called familial hypercholesterolemia. His father died of heart disease at 46; his son was diagnosed with elevated cholesterol at 14; and Soteriou himself, now 51, has had two heart attacks since his operation. Christos Soteriou, left, with his son Jade. Soteriou has familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic condition that causes extremely high cholesterol levels. Courtesy Jade Soteriou He’s tried statins and a newer drug, Repatha, to lower his cholesterol, but nothing worked. So, when the opportunity came to join an early-stage clinical trial investigating a cutting-edge way to lower dangerously high cholesterol with a one-time treatment, he jumped at the chance.…