Heart Attack Risk Prediction
There have been dramatic improvements in terms of understanding an individual’s risk of heart attacks through new technological innovations.
Understanding an individual’s risk of developing heart attacks is fundamental. It allows personalised lifestyle improvements and informs on decisions regarding preventative medicines and strategies that can greatly reduce the risk of a heart attack. Traditional risk scoring techniques (examples include QRISK3 and Framingham), are used to make decisions regarding prescribing of preventative medicines such as statins and aspirin in those who have not had a heart attack. The development of cardiac CT allows us to visualise the heart arteries in a non-invasive way. We can detect if an individual has evidence of coronary artery disease, if so how much of the disease is present, and if it is present would an individual benefit from taking preventative medicines.
Furthermore, novel AI-derived assessments can help look at the fat around the heart arteries to give even greater precision on an induvial risk (CARISTO). This “bolt-on” to the CT greatly enhances the risk predication and provides patients an extremely useful understanding of their true heart attack risk. I am happy to provide this service to patients at my clinic at Venturi Cardiology, Birchwood.