Assessment

Risk Assessment

Before a prescribing decision is made, each patient’s overall level of cardiovascular risk should be assessed. Risk assessment requires analysis of individual risk factors in conjunction with cholesterol measurement. To improve a patient’s cardiovascular outcomes and minimise their risk of experiencing cardiovascular events, treatment should be matched to their individual level of cardiovascular risk. The higher an individual patient’s cardiovascular risk, the greater the intensity of risk-reduction therapy they should be offered.

Risk management guidelines:
The following information is taken from the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III): Full Report, published by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Please refer to the original guideline document for more detailed information.¹

ATP III recognises that detection of dyslipidaemia and additional risk factors occurs primarily through clinical consultation. Cardiovascular risk factors, co-morbidities of and other factors can also be detected and evaluated as part of a patient’s consultation. Alternatively, public screening programs can identify cardiovascular risk factors, provided that affected individuals are appropriately referred for physician attention.

The identification of a cholesterol disorder has the advantage that additional risk factors for cardiovascular disease – including existing coronary heart disease (CHD), peripheral vascular disease (PVD), stroke, age, gender, family history, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, obesity, physical inactivity and co-morbidities – can be assessed and considered when selecting the treatment most likely to improve cardiovascular outcomes for an individual patient.

Reference:
1. Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III): Full report. Section III-1. NIH Publication No. 02-5215, September 2002. This guideline document, published by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), as a part of the NIH and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/index.htm.