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Cardiovascular profile

The risk of developing cardiovascular disease is usually calculated using the Framingham Risk Score. The calculated risk can be low (less than 10%), moderate (10%-20%) or high (more than 20%). Therapeutic interventions (lifestyle changes and medication) are based on this calculation, which takes into account age, gender, the presence of diabetes or high blood pressure (treated or untreated), smoking status as well as total and HDL cholesterol levels. This calculation is accurate in about half of all cases. Over the years, several other risk factors have been identified, enabling a better risk assessment in the other half of the population: prediabetes, metabolic syndrome, decreased renal function, the presence of atypical lipoproteins, chronic inflammatory diseases and non-cardiac signs of atherosclerosis.

Therefore, the cardiovascular profile includes all elements of the Framingham score in addition to information concerning prediabetes and metabolic syndrome (blood sugar, HbA1c), renal function (creatinine, eGFR and microalbuminuria), the presence of atypical lipoproteins (apoB) and inflammatory diseases (ultrasensitive CRP) as well as signs of atherosclerosis in the blood vessels (ankle brachial index ). A comment in the report can recommend a reassessment of the Framingham score based on this new information.

Term of the Week

Predictive medicine

Medicine that links medical knowledge with data to predict a patient’s potential health problems. Examples include artificial intelligence and genetics.