Summary
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, predominantly driven by modifiable risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and tobacco use. The 2023 American Heart Association (AHA) PREVENT™ equations represent a major advance in CVD risk prediction by providing contemporary, race-neutral 10- and 30-year “total CVD” risk estimates derived from over 6.5 million diverse U.S. adults. Unlike earlier risk models, PREVENT equations also integrate kidney and metabolic health, offering more comprehensive and equitable risk prediction. Yet, providing patients with risk percentages alone rarely motivates meaningful behavior change, as abstract probabilities are often difficult to translate into concrete action. The heart-age concept, which compares an individual's risk profile to that of a healthy peer, offers a more accessible and motivating way to communicate risk. However, most available consumer tools lack rigorous clinical validation, provide neither actionable next steps nor integration within clinical workflows, and are not guided by a structured implementation framework. The PREVENT & Heart Age Support for Engagement (PHASE) project directly addresses these critical gaps. PHASE proposes to develop and rigorously test an innovative, user-centered digital tool that integrates PREVENT’s 10- and 30-year CVD risk equations with dynamically calculated heart age and concise, evidence-based behavior change guidance. By embedding CFIR 2.0, an established framework for identifying barriers and facilitators to implementation, PHASE aims to ensure clinical feasibility, user acceptability, and equity-oriented adoption in routine care. |
Team
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Yue Pan (Public Health Sciences), Claudia Martinez (Cardiovascular), Audrey Harkness (Nursing and Health Studies), Daniel Jimenez (Psychiatry), Daniel Feaster (Biostatistics)
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