Cardiovascular disease: what does QRISK actually measure?

Samarasekera and colleagues write that QRISK estimates the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).1 Regrettably, they do not define CVD. This is a missed opportunity because there seems to be remarkable lack of agreement between apparently credible sources.A patient wishing to understand a QRISK result might look up “cardiovascular disease” on the NHS website.2 They will find a definition encompassing coronary heart disease, stroke, transient ischaemic attack, peripheral artery disease, and aortic aneurysm. NHS England adds congenital heart disease and vascular dementia to the list.3Perhaps the official QRISK website is a better place to start (https://qrisk.org). The homepage reports that QRISK measures the risk of “heart attack or stroke” alone. This minimalist claim is also found in Public Health England’s document NHS Health Checks: QRISK3 Explained,4 and the British Heart Foundation’s website,5 as well as numerous general practice websites.Perplexingly, if a patient navigates to the “Information” page of the QRISK website,…
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