The Framingham Risk Score was developed as part of the Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948 as a project of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Boston University. The objective of the study was to identify common characteristics that contribute to cardiovascular disease by following its development over a long period of time in a large group of participants who had not yet developed symptoms or suffered a heart attack or stroke.

Researchers at Intermountain Medical Center followed patients an average of three years after their angiogram, and some were followed for up to 10 years.

"We are in the process of replicating these findings at an academic center in North Carolina. Our previous studies of the Intermountain Risk Score showed that it applies very well both to patients and to the general population in different geographic settings, so we expect it will improve on the Framingham Risk Score in that East Coast population as well," Dr. Horne said. "We are also evaluating which health conditions are best predicted by the Intermountain Risk Score, and how changes over time in laboratory values influence the scoring system's ability to predict health outcomes."

Dr. Horne says that the goal at Intermountain Healthcare is to create an online risk score calculator to help clinicians around the world better assess their patients' health.

Source: Intermountain Medical Center