Appendix – Cardiovascular risk tables
How to use the risk charts
- Identify the chart relating to the person’s sex, diabetes status, smoking history and age. The charts should be used for all adults aged 45–74 years (and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 35 years or older) without known history of CVD or already known to be at high risk.
- Within the chart, choose the cell nearest to the person’s age, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and total cholesterol (TC):HDL ratio. For example, the lower left cell contains all non-smokers without diabetes who are 35–44 years and have a TC:HDL ratio of less than 4.5 and a SBP of less than 130 mm Hg.
- The colour of the cell that the person falls into provides their 5-year absolute cardiovascular risk level (see legend above for risk category). People who fall exactly on a threshold between cells are placed in the cell indicating higher risk.
Notes: The risk charts include values for SBP alone, as this is the most informative of conventionally measured blood pressure parameters for cardiovascular risk. For certain groups CVD risk may be underestimated using these charts; please see page 3 of Absolute cardiovascular disease risk assessment – quick reference guide for health professionals for recommendations.
CVD refers collectively to coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and other vascular disease including peripheral arterial disease and renovascular disease.
Charts are based on the NVDPA’s Guidelines for the assessment of absolute cardiovascular disease risk and adapted with permission from New Zealand Guidelines Group. New Zealand Cardiovascular Guidelines Handbook: A Summary Resource for Primary Care Practitioners. Second edition. Wellington, NZ: 2009. www.nzgg.org.nz.
These charts are taken from Absolute cardiovascular disease risk assessment – quick reference guide for health professionals. © 2009 National Heart Foundation of Australia. Reproduced with permission. No further reproduction is allowed.
© The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Printed from www.racgp.org.au/redbook