The American Heart Association's Predicting Risk of cardiovascular disease EVENTs (PREVENT) equations have been integrated into Epic's electronic health record (EHR) platform, a move that places modern cardiovascular risk assessment directly into the workflow of most U.S. healthcare systems. The integration means clinicians across the country can now access the guideline-recommended tool at the point of care, supporting shared decision-making with patients about preventing heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.
The PREVENT equations, developed by the American Heart Association, estimate a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Unlike earlier tools, they incorporate measures of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic health into a single framework and provide estimates for total cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. They were derived from health information of more than 6.5 million adults from diverse racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and can assess risk over both 10- and 30-year horizons.
Embedding the equations into Epic's workflow streamlines care delivery and offers timely decision support. "The promise of PREVENT lies in its ability to be implemented and acted on at scale," said Sadiya S. Khan, M.D., M.Sc., American Heart Association volunteer and preventive cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, who led the development of the PREVENT equations. "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. This is a critical next step in informing conversations and care for personalized prevention in patients."
The integration aligns with recent American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guidelines for managing high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, all of which recommend the PREVENT equations for risk assessment and personalized treatment decisions. This reflects growing adoption of the tool across prevention efforts.
"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 adults aged 30-79 years without a history of cardiovascular disease. Risk estimates serve as a guide and starting point for clinician-patient conversations about prevention strategies. The 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 underscores 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 are used consistently and efficiently in routine care.
For more information about the PREVENT equations, visit the American Heart Association's professional education website.
