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Traditional Risk Models Predict Heart Disease as Well as Genetic Test

Traditional cardiovascular risk factors can predict who will develop coronary heart disease as accurately as a sophisticated genetic test.

Traditional risk models predict heart disease as well as genetic test

Source: Getty Images

By Jessica Kent

- Cardiovascular factors typically evaluated in an annual physical, including blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diabetes, and smoking status, are just as accurate in predicting who will develop coronary heart disease (CHD) as an advanced genetic test, a study published in JAMA revealed.

CHD is the leading cause of death worldwide, killing an estimated 3.8 million men and 3.4 million women in the US each year, researchers said. Identifying those at increased risk for CHD could help patients avoid adverse events, such as heart attacks, through lifestyle changes and preventive treatments like cholesterol-lowering statins.

To help predict high-risk patients, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association partnered to develop a risk calculator known as the 2013 ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort Equations based on traditional cardiovascular risk factors.