A simple computer program for guiding management of cardiovascular risk factors and prescribing.
OBJECTIVE
To describe, and to test against trial data, a simple and flexible computer program for calculating cardiovascular risk in individual patients as an aid to managing risk factors and prescribing drugs to lower cholesterol concentration and blood pressure.


METHODS
Descriptive comparison of actual cardiovascular risk in randomised controlled trials of cholesterol reduction with risk predicted by a computer program based on the Framingham risk equation. Comparison of the program's performance with that of tables and guidelines by means of hypothetical case examples.


METHODS
Average risk of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction.


RESULTS
The computer program accurately predicted baseline absolute risk in a UK population as well as the relative and absolute reduction in risk from cholesterol lowering for primary prevention of coronary heart disease. The program also allowed a more refined estimate of absolute risk of coronary heart disease than some existing tables and enabled the impact of prescribing decisions to be quantified and costed.


CONCLUSIONS
This simple computer program to estimate individuals' cardiovascular disease risk and display the benefits of intervention should help clinicians and patients decide on the most effective packages of risk reduction and identify those most likely to benefit from modulation of risk factors.
Hingorani
A D
AD
Centre for Clinical Pharmacology, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London W1P 9LN. a.hingorani@ucl.ac.uk
Vallance
P
P
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D017035:Pravastatin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D012984:Software
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D002784:Cholesterol; D017035:Pravastatin