Rheumatoid arthritis: cardiovascular risk assessment
Indicator
The percentage of patients with rheumatoid arthritis aged 30 to 84 years who have had a cardiovascular risk assessment using a CVD risk assessment tool adjusted for RA in the preceding 15 months.
Indicator type
General practice indicator suitable for use in the Quality and Outcomes Framework.
This document does not represent formal NICE guidance. For a full list of NICE indicators, see our menu of indicators.
To find out how to use indicators and how we develop them, see our NICE indicator process guide.
Rationale
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a significant, independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and causes increased mortality compared with the general population.
Most existing cardiovascular disease risk assessment models do not treat rheumatoid arthritis as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and therefore the scores underestimate the person's risk. It is recommended that the CVD risk assessment is repeated annually, unless patients have established CVD (for example, coronary heart disease, stroke and transient ischemic attack), or familial hypercholesterolemia.
Source guidance
Rheumatoid arthritis in adults: management. NICE guideline NG100 (2018, updated 2020), recommendation 1.9.4
Specification
Numerator: The number of patients in the denominator who had a CVD risk assessment using a CVD risk assessment tool adjusted for RA in the preceding 15 months.
Denominator: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis aged 30 to 84 years.
Calculation: Numerator divided by the denominator, multiplied by 100.
Exclusions: Patients who have any of the following diagnoses in their record:
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coronary heart disease (CHD)
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stroke
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transient ischemic attack (TIA)
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familial hypercholesterolemia.
Minimum population: The indicator would be appropriate to assess performance at individual general practice level.
ISBN: 978-1-4731-6082-8