ACP: ASCVD Risk Estimation for Primary Prevention with Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM

“Risk estimators do NOT prescribe a drug,” said Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, underscoring the role of cardiovascular risk assessment in primary prevention. The risk estimator is a tool to help guide decision making about whether drug therapy—and what level of intensity—is appropriate in a given patient to prevent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

It is a starting point in a process, he points out, that involves both the science and the art of medicine plus a large dose of shared decision making between physician and patient to arrive at an individualized approach to treatment.

Lloyd-Jones made his comments during his presentation, “Preventive cardiology: cardiovascular screening and imaging for risk stratification,” at the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine Meeting 2021: Virtual Experience on Friday, April 30, 2021.

The slide show that follows is based on Dr Lloyd-Jones' presentation and includes links to all of the primary studies that he discusses.

Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM is the Eileen M. Foell Professor of Heart Research; Professor of Preventive Medicine, Medicine, and Pediatrics; Chair, Department of Preventive Medicine, at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, and President-Elect of the American Heart Association.