The American Heart Association's Predicting Risk of cardiovascular disease EVENTs (PREVENT) equations are now integrated into Epic's electronic health record (EHR) platform, a move that places modern cardiovascular risk assessment into the majority of EHR systems nationwide. This integration marks a significant step in bringing guideline-recommended risk assessment directly into everyday patient care, where clinicians discuss primary prevention of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure with patients.
By embedding the PREVENT equations within a major clinical platform, the American Heart Association reinforces its leadership in translating cardiovascular science from publication to practical implementation. The integration streamlines care delivery and provides timely decision support at the point of care, allowing clinicians to identify at-risk patients earlier and engage in shared decision-making about prevention strategies.
"The promise of PREVENT lies in its ability to be implemented and acted on at scale. Expanding access to the PREVENT equations through the Epic platform provides clinicians with access to risk estimates that can support shared decision-making with patients," said Sadiya S. Khan, M.D., M.Sc., American Heart Association volunteer and a preventive cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago who led the development of the PREVENT equations. "This is a critical next step in informing conversations and care for personalized prevention in patients."
Developed by the American Heart Association, the PREVENT equations estimate a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Unlike previous risk tools, they incorporate measures of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic health and provide estimates for total cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. The equations were developed using health information from more than 6.5 million adults from diverse racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The PREVENT equations also represent a more contemporary approach to risk assessment, capable of assessing risk over both 10- and 30-year time horizons. Recent American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guidelines for managing high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome recommend use of the PREVENT equations for cardiovascular risk assessment and personalized treatment decisions, reflecting growing adoption across cardiovascular prevention efforts.
Embedding the PREVENT equations directly into Epic's workflow offers the potential to improve efficiency and expand access to contemporary cardiovascular risk assessment, similar to other EHR integrations. "Risk estimation is the starting point for prevention," said Khan, who is also Magerstadt professor of cardiovascular epidemiology and associate professor of medicine and preventive medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "When clinicians have seamless access to accurate, up-to-date risk assessment tools, they can identify risk earlier and identify patients sooner who may benefit from lifestyle interventions, additional testing or preventive therapies before cardiovascular disease develops."
The PREVENT equations are intended for use in adults aged 30-79 years without a history of cardiovascular disease and can help clinicians and patients engage in shared decision-making about approaches to reduce risk. Risk estimates are meant to serve as a guide and starting point for clinician-patient conversations regarding prevention strategies.
This integration is part of the American Heart Association's broader effort to accelerate implementation of evidence-based CKM health strategies and extend access to guideline-recommended prevention tools through health technology relationships. It also reflects the Association's role as a trusted source of cardiovascular science and a convening leader working with clinical, technology, and health system partners to ensure validated tools can be used consistently and efficiently in routine care. For more information about the PREVENT equations, visit the American Heart Association's professional education website.
