Cardiovascular risk score

A cardiac risk score provides insight into your future risk for cardiovascular disease. For example, it can estimate the chances that you will have a stroke, heart attack, coronary artery disease, heart failure, atherosclerosis, and more. Healthcare professionals can use this score to assess the state of someone’s heart health, thus allowing them to appropriately intervene with medications, lifestyle interventions, and other treatments.

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A cardiovascular risk score evaluates different risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including someone’s:
Age, sex, and race
Cholesterol levels
Blood pressure
Diabetes status
Family history of cardiovascular disease
Smoking history
Aspirin use history
A cardiovascular risk score is provided as a percentage. A lower percentage indicates a lower risk of heart disease within the next 10 years. However, a higher percentage indicates a higher risk of heart disease within the next 10 years. Scores are typically categorized in the following ways:
Low risk: Less than 5%
Borderline risk: 5 to 7%
Intermediate risk: 7.5 to 19.9%
High risk: More than 20%

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A cardiovascular risk score informs on your risk for cardiovascular disease so you can take action to institute preventative measures. Modifiable risk factors include things like blood pressure, blood sugar, BMI, diet, exercise, cholesterol, smoking, and more. With simple lifestyle modifications and medications, you can effectively lower your risk score.