ASCVD Heart Disease Risk Assessment
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) has developed a tool to assess heart disease risk. Using the ASCVD Risk Estimator Plus as a screening tool allows us to gauge your 10-year risk of developing heart disease.
This tool is designed to assist patients who have NOT been diagnosed with heart disease in understanding their risk for developing heart disease within the next 10 years. If you have been diagnosed with heart disease, please talk to your doctor about your level of risk for having a coronary event or complication.
This tool is only useful for assessing the risk of suffering a heart attack or dying due to coronary disease for people age 20 or older who do not already have heart disease and have not been diagnosed with diabetes. The Heart Disease Risk Assessment Tool is based on findings from a major research project called the “Framingham Heart Study,” in which three generations of men and women from Framingham, Massachusetts were evaluated to better understand the causes of cardiovascular disease. The score takes your personal risk factors into consideration and tells you what your chances are for having heart attack or dying in the next 10 years. A risk score of 10% means that 10 out of 100 people in that risk category will have a heart attack or die within 10 years. The lower your score, the better.
Know Your Heart Disease Risk Factors
You may have an increased chance of developing heart disease if you are over age 35 and have even one of these risk factors:
- Family history of cardiovascular disease
- Shortness of breath, chest pain, irregular heartbeat, light-headedness, dizziness or loss of consciousness
- Previous heart attack or stroke
- Heart murmur diagnosis
- Alcohol dependence
- High blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol
- Sleep apnea
- Chronic lung condition
- Smoking habit
- Excess weight
Schedule a Screening Appointment
We are happy to assist you in scheduling a Baton Rouge Cardiology Center screening appointment.
You may send a request to us through our online form here. You may also speak with a scheduling representative directly at (225) 214-7730.
