Summary
Background. Primary prevention is the key method for cardiovascular risk assessment and timely initi ation of appropriate management. While many risk calculators exist it is important to understand which ones are the most accurate.
Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the most popular cardiovascular risk calculators and consider which ones are relevant to a Lithuanian population.
Methods. Literature from PubMed, Cochrane Library, and web search en gine Google Scholar.
Results. All the risk calculators used age, gender, smoking and systolic blood pressure as cardiovascular disease predictor variables. Other utilized risk factors vary while no strong consensus exists on their value be tween authors. Models differ by databases they are derived from and clinical end - points with some predicting only fatal cardiovascular disease and oth ers a broader range of cardiovascular disease. All models tend to overestimate cardiovascular risk especially if cohorts used in development are out-of-date. In Lithuania the models derived from high-risk European populations are the most adaptable.
Conclusions. Abundance of risk factors and their different contribution to cardiovascular disease is the reason why risk assessment tools should be used. We recommend models derived and calibrated for populations most representative of Lithuanian population: the models published by European Society of Cardiology in 2021.
