Information 1

  • The Australian cardiovascular disease risk calculator is based on the PREDICT-1 equation, developed in New Zealand and recalibrated and modified for the Australian (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) population. See Resource 1.
  • The new CVD risk categories are not interchangeable with the 2012 Absolute cardiovascular disease risk assessment categories

1. Who to identify for CVD risk 1–3

  • The following without known CVD require calculation using the calculator:
    • all people aged 45–79 years
    • people with diabetes aged 35–79 years
    • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 30–79 years:
      • assess CVD risk during well adult health checks for those aged 18–29 years. See Resource 2.
  • The following are assessed as being high risk of CVD and do not require calculation using the calculator:
    • people with moderate-to-severe Chronic kidney disease meeting any of these criteria:
      • sustained eGFR <45mL/min/1.73m2or
      • men with persistent uACR >25mg/mmol or
      • women with persistent uACR >35mg/mmol
    • people with a confirmed diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia. See Dyslipidaemia

2. Use calculator to assess CVD risk 1–3

Table 1. The Australian CVD Risk Calculator variables and instructions for use

Variable

Application

Mandatory

Age

  • Enter age in years
  • The Calculator is validated for adults aged 30–79 years

♥

Sex

  • Enter sex at birth
  • There is currently insufficient data to stratify risk for people who are intersex or non-binary sex

♥

Smoking status

  • Choose from three categories:
    • never smoked
    • previously smoked
    • currently smokes

♥

Blood pressure (BP)

  • Systolic blood pressure (SBP) is entered using the average of the last two seated, in-clinic BP measurements

♥

Cholesterol

  • Enter TC:HDL-C ratio
  • Use most recent measurements; fasting or non-fasting

♥

Diabetes

  • Enter diabetes status; yes or no

♥

CVD medicines

  • CVD medicines used during the 6 months prior to risk assessment:
    • lipid-modifying medicines. See Dyslipidaemia
    • BP-lowering medicines. See Hypertension
    • antithrombotic medicines. See Atrial fibrillation and Stroke and transient ischaemic attack

♥

Postcode

  • Postcode is entered to calculate the Socioeconomic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) ranking which reflects regional socioeconomic status
  • This can be manually adjusted at the discretion of the clinician

×

History of

AF

  • Known history of electrocardiogram (ECG) confirmed Atrial fibrillation; yes or no

×

Additional diabetes-specific variables for people with diabetes for more accuracy

Time since diagnosis

of diabetes

  • Time entered in years
  • See Diabetes

♥

HbA1c

  • Enter HbA1c in mmol/mol or % (single non-fasting)

♥

uACR *

  • Enter uACR in mg/mmol
  • See Chronic kidney disease

♥

eGFR *

  • Enter eGFR in mL/min/1.73m2
  • See Chronic kidney disease

♥

BMI

  • Enter calculated BMI: kg/m2

♥

Insulin

  • Record use of insulin in the 6 months before risk assessment

♥

* Whilst uACR and eGFR have been shown to independently improve prediction of cardiovascular events, they are only included as variables in the diabetes-specific equation due to lack of availability of data in the general population PREDICT cohort. Instead, they have been incorporated into the overall risk calculation as a reclassification factor.

3. Identify CVD risk category

Estimated 5 year CVD risk

 

High > 10%

 

Intermediate 5–10%

 

Low < 5%

  • The calculator also allows for factors to be "reclassified" up or down that may move an individuals risk estimate higher or lower. These are:
    • ethnicity
    • coronary artery calcium
    • family history of Coronary heart disease or Stroke and transient ischaemic attack in a first-degree female relative aged < 65 years or a first-degree male relative aged < 55 years
    • eGFR and uACR
    • a current or recent mental health condition requiring specialist treatment, whether received or not, in the 5 years prior to the CVD risk

4. Communicate CVD risk

  • Communicating risk is essential for patient health status understanding, informed consent and shared decision-making. See Engaging our patients
  • See Resources 2–5. to assist clinicians to communicate CVD risk

5. Manage CVD risk

  • Manage and address CVD risk by:
    • supporting the patient to address Lifestyle modifications
    • commencing pharmacotherapy with:
      • Blood pressure-lowering treatment. See Hypertension
      • Lipid-modifying treatment See Dyslipidaemia

6. References

7. Resources

  1. The online Australian cardiovascular disease risk calculator
  2. Medicare compliant Health Check Forms
  3. Cardiovascular disease risk communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: Toolkit for health professionals
  4. Yarning to make health decisions together – the Find Your Way shared decision-making model
  5. Heart health check toolkit
  6. Communicating cardiovascular risk effectively

Last updated: September 2024

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