Cardiovascular Risk Assessment Scores: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is considered to be one of the major groups of diseases which is preventable. The prevalence of such conditions is increasing due to the various lifestyle habits. In the majority of the cases, the disease remains asymptomatic. These CVDs can be prevented by early lifestyle modifications and treatment. CVDs are considered to be one of the major causes of death worldwide. Various risk assessment tools are used to identify patients with high risks, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, age, obesity, and atherosclerosis. These tools are used for calculating the risk of beginning a CVD from various risk factors of the patient obtained from history, physical and general examination along with investigations. The risk assessment tools play an important role in preoperative period for better decision-making and planning for the treatment. The objective is to locate, evaluate, and synthesize current systematic reviews that discuss the role of risk assessment tools in primary CVD prevention. This review article comprises the various risk assessment tools or scores that can be used to calculate the cardiovascular risk in an individual and also the scores relevant in India. They are the Framingham risk score, systemic coronary risk evaluation, Reynolds risk score, JBS3 risk calculator, and many more.