There is uncertainty whether current strategies for providing CVD risk scores  affect CVD events .
Providing CVD risk scores may slightly reduce CVD risk factor levels and may increase preventive medication prescribing in higher-risk people without evidence of harm .
BACKGROUND The current paradigm for cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) emphasises absolute risk assessment to guide treatment decisions in primary prevention .
Although the derivation and validation of multivariable risk assessment tools , or CVD risk scores , have attracted considerable attention , their effect on clinical outcomes is uncertain .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of evaluating and providing CVD risk scores in adults without prevalent CVD on cardiovascular outcomes , risk factor levels , preventive medication prescribing , and health behaviours .
Assessment of coronary heart disease risk, I. A postal inquiry among primary care physicians.
The purpose of the present study was to examine general practitioners ' abilities to make a correct estimation of the risk of coronary heart disease ( CHD ) .  A 10 % r and om sample of Norwegian primary care physicians ( n = 288 ) received a question naire that presented 10 case histories containing information about five CHD risk factors . The respondents ' risk estimation was compared with a composite score computed from epidemiologic data . The observed general tendency was towards underestimating the CHD risk . However , ' high-risk ' histories were recognized as CHD risk persons . Assessment of CHD risk due to multiple marginal abnormalities was only exceptionally correct . Hypercholesterolaemia and hypertension in men were acknowledged as contributing to clinical ly significant CHD risk only by a minority of GPs . Heavy smoking and a positive family history were associated with a more accurate estimation of CHD risk . Forty per cent of the physicians did not recognize the sex dependency of cholesterol as a CHD risk factor . None of the physician characteristics could predict variation in correct risk assessment
There is uncertainty whether current strategies for providing CVD risk scores  affect CVD events .
Providing CVD risk scores may slightly reduce CVD risk factor levels and may increase preventive medication prescribing in higher-risk people without evidence of harm .
BACKGROUND The current paradigm for cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) emphasises absolute risk assessment to guide treatment decisions in primary prevention .
Although the derivation and validation of multivariable risk assessment tools , or CVD risk scores , have attracted considerable attention , their effect on clinical outcomes is uncertain .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of evaluating and providing CVD risk scores in adults without prevalent CVD on cardiovascular outcomes , risk factor levels , preventive medication prescribing , and health behaviours .