Assessment of risk for developing coronary heart disease in asymptomatic individuals.

The assessment of risk for developing coronary heart disease (CHD) in asymptomatic individuals continues to be an important challenge for clinicians. We suggest that the Framingham risk score provides a pragmatic basis for assessing global 10-year CHD risk in this population. The Framingham risk score should be supplemented with additional information pertaining to diabetes, metabolic syndrome, family history, and peripheral arterial disease before a final decision is made with respect to individual risk. In terms of additional investigations, it is suggested that measurement of the ankle brachial index and a stress test that focuses on functional capacity be incorporated into the evaluation of asymptomatic subjects for CHD. The role of emerging risk factors remains unresolved as is the value of attempting to routinely diagnose subclinical disease with measurements such as the coronary calcium score.