Primary prevention of heart disease and stroke: a simplified approach to estimating risk of events and making drug treatment decisions

Long-term population-based studies have identified and quantified risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular (CCV) events. In addition, a number of well-designed clinical trials have shown that various drug therapies that reduce these factors decrease the risk of some CCV events. In the pra...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Medical Association journal 1997-08, Vol.157 (4), p.422-428
Main Authors: McCormack, J. P, Levine, M, Rangno, R. E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cardiovascular disease
Cerebrovascular Disorders - drug therapy
Cerebrovascular Disorders - etiology
Cerebrovascular Disorders - prevention & control
Heart Diseases - drug therapy
Heart Diseases - etiology
Heart Diseases - prevention & control
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Participation
Preventive medicine
Primary Prevention
Review
Risk
Risk Factors
Stroke
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Long-term population-based studies have identified and quantified risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular (CCV) events. In addition, a number of well-designed clinical trials have shown that various drug therapies that reduce these factors decrease the risk of some CCV events. In the practice of evidence-based medicine, data from clinical trials should inform treatment decisions. The clinician and patient, however, are faced with the difficult task of assessing the patient's particular risk and likelihood of benefit on the basis of the results of large, randomized trials. To assist clinicians and their patients in arriving at treatment decisions, the authors provide simple nomograms for estimating the risk of a CCV event for an individual patient and suggest an approach to estimating the potential benefit of drug therapy for primary prevention.
ISSN:0008-4409
0820-3946
1488-2329