A Convenient Tool to Profile Patients for Generalized Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Primary Care

Abstract

The early identification of and intervention in patients with increased risk factors for generalized cardiovascular disease greatly reduces their long-term mortality from hard coronary artery disease (CAD) events and other related co-morbidities. Thus, a number of multivariate risk factor analyses based on large-scale population studies have led to various risk-scoring models aimed at screening for those at high risk for CAD. These assessment systems, by virtue of novel diagnostic markers and better population data, have become increasingly adept at accurately predicting CAD risk in individual patients. Nevertheless, their practical application in the setting of primary care has lagged, because of a reluctance of many primary care physicians to adopt these methods. An effective risk assessment system should not only encompass the risk for hard CAD events but also include risks for related co-morbid conditions, such as stroke and heart failure, and be simple and accurate enough to be efficiently used in primary care clinics. In conclusion, in an attempt to simplify 1 of the more effective risk assessment devices for generalized cardiovascular disease risk that meets all these requirements, the investigators strongly support the model proposed by D'Agostino and colleagues and provide here a commentary on its utility in identifying patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease.