About the ASCVD 10-Year Risk Estimator:
The ASCVD (Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease) 10-Year Risk Estimator is a predictive tool developed by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) to estimate the probability of a first cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death) over the next 10 years.
It is based on pooled cohort equations derived from large-scale U.S. population studies, incorporating age, sex, race, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking status, and hypertension treatment as primary risk determinants. Clinical Interpretation:
- < 5%: Low risk — emphasize lifestyle modification.
- 5-7.4%: Borderline — consider risk enhancers before initiating therapy.
- 7.5-19.9%: Intermediate — moderate-intensity statin is reasonable.
- >20%: High — high-intensity statin recommended. Clinical Significance: This calculator supports shared decision-making between clinician and patient to guide lipid-lowering therapy and preventive strategies. Reference:
Goff DC Jr, et al. 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014;63(25 Pt B):2935-2959.
Grundy SM, et al. 2018 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;73(24):e285-e350.
Arnett DK, et al. 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;74(10):e177-e232.