Cardiovascular Risk Assessment.

Cardiovascular risk assessment is fundamental to prevention of cardiovascular disease, because it helps determine the size of the potential benefits that might accrue to individual patients from use of statins, aspirin, and other preventive interventions. Current guidelines recommend specific algorithms for cardiovascular risk assessment that combine information from traditional risk factors including blood pressure, lipids, and smoking, along with age and sex and other factors. These algorithms are the subject of active research and controversy. This article addresses the rationale, current guidelines and use, and potential future directions of cardiovascular risk assessment.