A simple multiplier to calculate the impact of HDL cholesterol on cardiovascular risk estimation using SCORE.

The 2011 ESC-EAS guidelines on the management of dyslipidaemias use four separate charts to illustrate the impact of differing HDL cholesterol levels on risk of cardiovascular disease. We developed an easy way to calculate the effects of differing HDL-C levels on risk by deriving HDL and sex specific multipliers and applying these to various reference charts. Of three strategies explored, one based on a low HDL (0.8 mmol/l) reference chart was the simplest and was acceptably accurate. Such an approach simplifies risk estimation by avoiding the need for multiple charts.