Risk Stratification and Selection for Statin Therapy: Going Beyond Framingham

Decisions for statin therapy in the primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease are generally made using the 10-year Framingham Risk Score (FRS). Even when a family history of premature cardiovascular disease is taken into account, there is often ambiguity about the need for statin therapy for patients with a 10-year FRS of 5%-19% and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol <3.5 mmol/L. Current Canadian dyslipidemia guidelines recommend consideration of a diversity of other factors, including biochemical measurements and imaging studies to help determine whether the calculated FRS might be misleadingly low and whether statin therapy might, therefore, be prudent. However, efficient use of the plethora of secondary factors makes this decision process itself potentially ambiguous. This brief summary provides a practical approach for using clinical information, basic biochemical tests, and more specialized tests, such as carotid ultrasound and coronary artery calcium scoring, to identify groups of patients at greater risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease than suggested by the FRS.