A New Cardiovascular Risk Calculator from the American Heart Association

The calculator that most clinicians use to estimate risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and inform primary prevention –— especially initiation of statins –— was developed in 2013 by researchers associated with the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA). The variables included in that calculator are age, sex, race, blood pressure, total and HDL cholesterol, and histories of smoking, diabetes, and treatment for hypertension.

However, many clinicians might not be aware that the AHA — in collaboration with a kidney disease research group — recently developed a new CV risk predictor called PREVENT, an acronym for Predicting Risk of cardiovascular disease EVENTs (Circulation 2024 Feb 6; 149:430)…