How well do the framingham risk factors correlate with diagnoses of ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease in a military benefi ciary cohort?

Abstract

We sought to determine how well the Framingham prediction rules correlate with ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease in a military benefi ciary cohort by examining demographic and International Classifi cation of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes from electronic medical records between 2001 and 2008. This sample (n = 163,627) included people averaged at 52 years of age (range 18-108); slightly more than half were male (55%), 21% were African- American, and 59% were Caucasian. Fifteen percent of benefi ciaries had ischemic heart disease and 3.4% had cerebrovascular disease. The Framingham model fi ts our data well; all Framingham risk factors were associated with increased likelihood of ischemic heart disease and all Framingham risk factors except gender increased cerebrovascular disease prevalence. Age was the strongest correlate for both ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease (>60 years old; ischemic heart disease relative risk, 3.9; 95% confi dence interval, 3.7-4.0; cardiovascular disease relative risk, 3.9; 95% confi dence interval, 3.6-4.2) followed by hyperlipidemia and hypertension. We conclude that military clinicians can risk stratify military benefi ciaries using the Framingham risk model. © Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S. All rights reserved.