The American Heart Association has unveiled a new cardiovascular risk assessment tool that eliminates race as a predictor, marking a significant shift in addressing health disparities. The PREVENT calculator, released in November, estimates 10- and 30-year risks of heart failure, heart attack, and stroke without using race-based equations.
Unlike its predecessor, the Pooled Cohort Equations, PREVENT considers factors such as age, cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, diabetes, social determinants, smoking, and kidney function. This approach aims to create more equitable healthcare by recognizing that racial disparities in cardiovascular disease stem from social factors rather than biological differences.
“Not including race as a predictor helps to emphasize that race is associated with disease, not a cause of disease,” the AHA stated. The new tool incorporates a ZIP-code based social deprivation index to reflect geographic contributors to cardiovascular risk.
PREVENT was developed using data from over 3 million people and validated on another equally large group, representing a more diverse U.S. population. The AHA reports that testing found the calculator accurate for people of all races and ethnicities sampled.
However, the organization acknowledges that this tool alone cannot eliminate systemic racism in healthcare. “A more accurate risk calculator does not eliminate unconscious bias or overt injustices that individuals of certain races and ethnicities experience when seeking health care,” they cautioned.
Three research groups, funded by the Doris Duke Foundation, will spend the next year assessing PREVENT’s effectiveness across different demographics. The AHA encourages healthcare professionals to incorporate this tool into their practice, aiming to identify patients needing early support to prevent cardiovascular events.
See “Race, Racism, and Risk Prediction for Cardiovascular Disease” (March 12, 2024)
