What is cardiovascular risk?

 What is cardiovascular risk?

Absolute multifactorial risk

Absolute risk of CVD is the probability of an individual developing the

disease over a defined period (e.g. within the next 10 years).

As CVD is multifactorial in its origins, it is important. in estimating the

risk of developing or having recurrent CVD, to consider all risk factors

simultaneously:

• The overall level of risk is based on all factors taken together.

Physicians deal with the whole patient rather than one aspect of his or

her risk.

• Clustering of risk factors in an individual may have a multiplicative effect

on absolute disease risk.

• An individual with a number of mildly abnormal risk factors may be at

greater absolute CVD risk than a subject with just one high risk factor.

Relative risk

Relative risk is the ratio Of absolute CHD risk for an individual with one or

more risk factors to that of an individual at a reference level of risk. Two

different ways Of defining the reference level Of risk have been used:

the absolute risk for a person at low risk (i.e. a person Of the same age

and sex, but without any major risk factors); and

• the absolute risk for a person of the same age and sex with average risk

in the population.

Relative risk informs an individual of their risk in relation to that of their

peers, and is particularly valuable in younger people who are always at low

absolute risk.