Web Calculator Assesses British Heart Risk

A Web-based calculator will better assess the risk of heart disease in British black and minority ethnic groups — groups who are often wrongly assessed.

Developed by researchers at the University of Bristol, ETHRISK is designed to improve the prediction of the heart-disease risks of seven British black and minority ethnic groups.

Ethnic groups within Britain have a different risk of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease when compared with the general population in Britain. However, their risks are not being correctly assessed due to the outdated method of calculation, according to Dr. Peter Brindle, lead author of the paper published online today in the journal Heart.

It provides a much more realistic assessment of the risk of having heart disease and stroke within a 10-year period, faced by an individual from one of these groups, said Brindle. Once the blood pressure and cholesterol measurements have been taken, the nurse or doctor can go online and plug in the numbers to get a more accurate risk score for that individual.