The prevalence of HAE is relatively low – between 1 in every 10,000 to 1 in every 50,000 persons. Most persons with HAE acquire a C1 esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) mutation from one of their parents. A parent with HAE usually has a 50% probability of transmitting this condition on to one of his/her children of either sex as shown in the figure (HEA Inheritance). People with no previous history of can acquire HAE by spontaneous changes in the sperm or egg cell. In a review of patients who do not have a history of HAE in their family, but who have relatively low levels of mutated C1-INH with persistent angioedema, 25% of new patients who had HAE had C1-INH changes that do not show signs of inheritance.
