The American Heart Association's Predicting Risk of cardiovascular disease EVENTs (PREVENT) equations have been integrated into Epic's electronic health record (EHR) platform, the organization announced. This integration makes modern cardiovascular risk assessment available in the majority of EHR systems nationwide, representing a significant step forward in bringing guideline-recommended risk assessment into everyday patient care.
The PREVENT equations are a clinical tool designed to estimate a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Unlike previous risk tools, they incorporate measures of cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic health and provide estimates for total cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke and heart failure. The equations were developed using health information from more than 6.5 million adults from diverse racial, ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. They can assess risk over both 10- and 30-year time horizons.
"The promise of PREVENT lies in its ability to be implemented and acted on at scale. Expanding access to the PREVENT equations through the Epic platform provides clinicians with access to risk estimates that can support shared decision-making with patients," said Sadiya S. Khan, M.D., M.Sc., American Heart Association volunteer and a preventive cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago who led the development of the PREVENT equations. "This is a critical next step in informing conversations and care for personalized prevention in patients."
Recent American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guidelines for managing high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome recommend use of the PREVENT equations for cardiovascular risk assessment and personalized treatment decisions, reflecting growing adoption of the tool across cardiovascular prevention efforts.
Embedding the PREVENT equations directly into Epic's workflow streamlines care delivery and provides opportunity for timely decision support at the point of care. Similar integrations with electronic health record systems have demonstrated the potential to improve efficiency and expand access to contemporary cardiovascular risk assessment.
"Risk estimation is the starting point for prevention," said Khan, who is also Magerstadt professor of cardiovascular epidemiology and associate professor of medicine and preventive medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "When clinicians have seamless access to accurate, up-to-date risk assessment tools, they can identify risk earlier and identify patients sooner who may benefit from lifestyle interventions, additional testing or preventive therapies before cardiovascular disease develops."
The PREVENT equations are intended for use in adults aged 30-79 years without a history of cardiovascular disease and can help clinicians and patients engage in shared decision-making about approaches to reduce risk. Risk estimates are intended to serve as a guide and starting point for clinician-patient conversations regarding prevention strategies.
The integration is part of the American Heart Association's broader effort to accelerate implementation of evidence-based CKM health strategies and extend access to guideline-recommended prevention tools through health technology relationships. It also reflects the Association's role as a trusted source of cardiovascular science and a convening leader working with clinical, technology and health system partners to help ensure validated tools can be used consistently and efficiently in routine care.
For more information about the PREVENT equations, visit the American Heart Association's professional education website. Additional resources include the following: The PREVENT equations can improve, personalize care for adults with high BP and PREVENT equation accurately estimated 10-year CVD risk and those with calcium buildup.
