Model of different screening strategies for cardiovascular disease

The objective of this model is to assess the cost-effectiveness of different screening strategies for cardiovascular disease in Spain. To estimate the risk of each individual, both the Framingham risk score, which estimates the risk of having a cardiovascular event at 10 years, and a novel approach based on the Framingham risk score adjusted for age and sex were considered. The probabilistic Markov model was used to model the costs and benefits of alternative methods of identifying high-risk individuals in primary care and treating them with statins to reduce their cardiovascular risk. The results showed that the novel approach based on the age-adjusted Framingham risk score is more cost-effective regardless of sex and age. The programme is cost-effective for men at earlier age (50 years old) than for women (60 years old).