Updated New Zealand cardiovascular disease risk-benefit prediction guide

doi:10.1136/bmj.320.7236.709

From trainee to consultant, BMJ Group offers doctors around the world tailored information, special events, learning resources and recruitment services at every step along their career path.

... by doctors, for doctors, for patients
We are open for entries!

Online learning

BMJ Learning

High-quality CME / CPD for doctors and other healthcare professionals. BMJ Learning features hundreds of accredited, peer-reviewed learning modules in text, video, and audio formats. Find out more

Courses and Qualifications

BMJ Masterclasses

BMJ Masterclasses, led by experts, help clinicians to use the latest evidence and recent guidelines in practice and meet their CPD/CME requirements. Find out more

Exam Preparation

The leading provider of online exam preparation, helping over 167,000 healthcare professionals to pass their exams. Find out more

onExamination

Search all BMJ education articles:

From

Limit by

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

Rodney Jackson, professor of epidemiology (rt.jackson@auckland.ac.nz)

Department of Community Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Editorial by Jackson

The benefits of drug treatment for patients with raised blood pressure or blood cholesterol are directly related to their pretreatment risk of a cardiovascular disease event.1 2 This guide provides a simple quantitative method for assessing a person's risk of cardiovascular disease and the likely benefits of lowering blood pressure or blood cholesterol with drugs. These instructions and charts (figure) combine and update previous New Zealand cardiovascular disease risk assessment charts.3 4 This is not a guideline for managing cardiovascular disease risk.

Assessing risk of a cardiovascular event over next five years

A cardiovascular event is defined as a death related to coronary disease, non-fatal myocardial infarction, new angina, fatal or non-fatal stroke or transient ischaemic attack, or the development of congestive heart failure or peripheral vascular disease.