Accuracy of numerical coronary profile. Correlation of risk factors with arteriographically documented severity of atherosclerosis.

Abstract We compared a coronary risk profile (developed by the Framingham Study) based on age, sex, cigarette smoking, glucose intolerance, left ventricular hypertrophy, systolic blood pressure and serum cholesterol to angiographically determined severity of coronary-artery disease in 158 consecutive patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. A profile of 1.0 indicated average relative risk. Risk profiles for 105 patients with angiographically documented coronary-artery disease was 1.52 whereas it was 1.08 for the group without coronary disease (P<0.01). There was no difference between the patients with coronary disease with (1.44) and those without previous infarct (1.46). The coronary risk profile, however, increased with increasing severity of coronary disease. The high-risk coronary patient can be identified by seven easily measured risk factors, and the extent of coronary-artery disease increases with the number and severity of coronary risk factors. (N Engl J Med 296:1447–1450, 1977)