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 .
The Statin Choice decision aid in primary care: a randomized trial.
OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of a decision aid on perceived risk of heart attacks and medication adherence among urban primary care patients with diabetes . METHODS We r and omly allocated 150 patients with diabetes to participate in a usual primary care visit either with or without the Statin Choice tool . Participants completed a question naire at baseline and telephone follow-up at 3 and 6 months . RESULTS Intervention patients were more likely to accurately perceive their underlying risk for a heart attack without taking a statin ( OR : 1.9 , CI : 1.0 - 3.8 ) and with taking a statin ( OR : 1.4 , CI : 0.7 - 2.8 ) ; a decline in risk overestimation among patients receiving the decision aid accounts for this finding . There was no difference in statin adherence at 3 or 6 months . CONCLUSION A decision aid about using statins to reduce coronary risk among patients with diabetes  improved risk communication , beliefs , and decisional conflict , but did not improve adherence to statins . PRACTICE IMPLICATION S Decision aid enhanced communication about the risks and benefits of statins improved patient risk perceptions but did not alter adherence among patients with diabetes
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 .