Beyond SCORE2: Rethinking Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in a Very-High-Risk European Setting-A Narrative Review and Proposal of the ROMA-CV Algorithm for Romania.

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality across the European Union (EU), with a fourfold to fivefold east-west gradient in standardized circulatory-disease mortality. Romania ranks second highest in the EU (787 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023). Primary-prevention practice is organized around two quantitative frameworks-the 2021 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) SCORE2/SCORE2-OP system and the 2018/2019 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE)-which converge on therapy but diverge on patient selection.

Methods

We conducted a structured narrative review (SANRA-compliant) of contemporary primary-prevention guidelines, validation studies, key trials of risk-modifier interventions, and Romanian epidemiological data through April 2026. On this basis, we developed ROMA-CV (Risk Of Multifactorial Atherosclerosis-CardioVascular) as a conceptual, country-specific risk-stratification framework anchored to existing Class I/IIa recommendations or Level A/B evidence, rather than as a fully developed, ready-to-use clinical tool

Results

Four structural limitations of SCORE2 are clinically consequential in Romania: (i) an age floor of 40 years that excludes the population in which premature myocardial infarction is most preventable; (ii) a country-level calibration coefficient applied to individuals; (iii) permissive treatment of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)]; and (iv) an under-emphasis of subclinical-atherosclerosis imaging. We propose ROMA-CV (Risk Of Multifactorial Atherosclerosis-Cardiovascular), a four-step algorithm retaining SCORE2 as the quantitative spine while embedding once-in-a-lifetime Lp(a) measurement, a mandatory amplifier checklist, and selective coronary artery calcium (CAC) or carotid/femoral ultrasound imaging.

Conclusions

ROMA-CV is a hypothesis-generating proposal that operationalizes existing evidence-based recommendations into a deterministic Romanian pathway aligned with the 2025-2030 Romanian National Plan for Non-Communicable Diseases and the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan. The algorithm is not a validated clinical decision tool and requires prospective external validation in Romanian cohorts-alongside feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and implementation studies-before any consideration of routine clinical adoption.