Assessment of Overall Cardiovascular Risk in Hypertensive Patients

1. Global cardiovascular risk should be assessed. Multifactorial risk assessment models can be used to:
   1. Predict more accurately an individual’s global cardiovascular risk (Grade A);
   2. Help engage individuals in conversations about health behaviour change to lower BP (Grade D; new guideline); and,
   3. Use antihypertensive therapy more efficiently (Grade D).
2. Consider informing patients of their global risk to improve the effectiveness of risk factor modification (Grade B). Consider also using analogies that describe comparative risk such as “Cardiovascular Age”, “Vascular Age” or “Heart Age” to inform patients of their risk status (Grade B).