Doctors commonly estimate a person’s risk of developing heart disease based on the likelihood of suffering a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years. But, according to a new study, estimating short-term risk may give patients a false sense of security. Calculating a person’s lifetime risk of developing heart disease paints a much more accurate picture of their risk. Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, study researcher and an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University, says doctors are giving incomplete and misleading risk information if they only focus on the next 10 years of someone’s life. According to the study, a person’s risk of developing heart disease rises significantly if they have just one of the major risk factors, which include high cholesterol or blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes. More here.
