What Are The Biggest Myths About Veganism?
A number of people have identified veganism as one of the biggest trends of 2018; the reality is that the number of persons identifying their diet as plant-based or vegan is growing larger and larger.
5 Heart Calculators To Know Your Risk Assessment
The concept of vascular age, also known as arterial age, is a strongly supported measurement. There are several calculators available to assist in measuring this. Several require a coronary artery calcium CT score (CACS), but not all. One is for Lipoprotein(a) patients but does not include the CACS in the measuremnt.
CALCULATORS
1) Arterial Age from CACS
This calculator requires a CACS score and knowledge of some lab values. If you have a high CACS you will not "enjoy" the results of this analysis.
https://internal.mesa-nhlbi.org/about/procedures/tools/arterial-age-calculator
2) CACS percentile
This calculator also requires a CACS score and compares a score to other age and gender matched members of a large data base. If you are over the 50th percentile you are above average, all the way to the 99th percentile. Lower is better.
https://www.mesa-nhlbi.org/Calcium/input.aspx
3) Astrocharm Score
This calculator requires a CACS and some lab values. It is a joint project of NASA and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. It provides a calculated risk over 10 years of heart attack and stroke.
4) Lipoprotein(a) Risk Calculator
This calculator does not require a CACS but does require knowing your Lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) level. First you calculate your risk of a heart attack or stroke up to age 80 and then you add in your Lp(a) level and it recalculates the risk. It is a useful tool.
https://www.lpaclinicalguidance.com/
5) PREVENT Risk Calculator
This calculator is the current one endorsed by the American Heart Association and can predict 30 year heart risk for younger individuals. It does not require the CACS and does not factor in levels of Lp(a). It does factor in kidney function.
https://professional.heart.org/en/guidelines-and-statements/prevent-calculator
COMMENTS
The concept of personalized medicine or cardiology refers to tailoring therapy to the disease burden and risk of one person at a time. These 5 calculators can be helpful. None are perfect as there is not yet a calcultor that includes CACS and Lp(a) measurements. There is also no calculator for the results of a coronary CT angiogram (CCTA) with AI interpretation like Cleerly Health. We always will need better tools and AI is clearly the future.
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