CVD Risk Guidelines Lacking Consensus on Optimum Strategies

There are considerable discrepancies in primary prevention guidelines for adult cardiovascular risk assessment, according to a review published online September 13 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

HealthDay News — There are considerable discrepancies in primary prevention guidelines for adult cardiovascular risk assessment, according to a review published online September 13 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Mohammed Y. Khanji, MB, BCh, from the Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of current primary prevention guidelines on adult cardiovascular risk assessment, highlighting the similarities and differences. Titles and abstracts were reviewed to identify guidelines from Western countries with recommendations for cardiovascular risk assessment. Twenty-one guidelines were identified and reviewed for rigor of guideline development.

The researchers found that 17 of the guidelines showed considerable rigor of development. These recommendations addressed assessment of total cardiovascular risk, dysglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertension (five, seven, two, and three guidelines, respectively). With the exception of one recommendation, all advocated for screening and most included prediction models integrating several risk factors for deciding on further screening or to guide management. There was no consensus on screening strategy, recommended target population, screening tests, or treatment threshold.

“Considerable discrepancies in cardiovascular screening guidelines still exist, with no consensus on optimum screening strategies or treatment threshold,” the authors write.

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