Understanding Your Risk for Heart Disease and Stroke

Assessing risk is a crucial step in preventing and treating atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and its risk factors, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. PCNA has developed this handout for nurses and other health care providers to help patients and their families understand how heart disease risk tools (calculators) work.

Help your patients understand how their ASCVD risk is measured, what a risk score means, and how they can reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke. This three-page digital sheet details:

• Major risk factors for ASCVD
• Other factors that increase risk
• How to measure your risk for heart disease and stroke
• What a risk score means
• A few popular tools (and hyperlinks):
  • ASCVD Risk Estimator Plus
  • Reynolds Risk Score
  • Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Risk Score
  • Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Scan

Reviewed July 2023