Evaluating CMR

The PROCAM risk algorithm

The PROCAM score also estimates overall CHD risk in men aged 35 to 65 years. Regarding data on women, the number of coronary events that occurred during the 10 year follow-up in the PROCAM study did not allow the development of a risk prediction algorithm specific to women. However, the PROCAM study did assess probability in women using the values of male subjects (7). Preliminary analyses indicate that women aged 45 to 65 years have a fourfold lower absolute risk of coronary events compared to men of the same age. It has therefore been proposed that women’s risk can be estimated by dividing the global risk predicted for men by 4. However, further study is required to test the validity of this approach.

An important feature of the PROCAM score is that it features only “hard” end points, including acute MI and sudden coronary death. The authors defined major coronary events as the primary coronary end points because these hard end points were unlikely to go unnoticed or be misdiagnosed (7).