Controlled trial of effect of documented cardiovascular risk scores on prescribing

Cardiovascular disease causes the death of around 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes.1 However, risk factors for cardiovascular disease in such patients are often untreated2 despite the proved benefits of interven­ tion.3 4 One way to help clinicians identify patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease is to use cardiovascular primary prevention risk tables. These tables integrate the multiple risk factors into a single score. We did a pilot study to test the hypothesis that documentation of a cardiovascular risk score in the case notes would improve the management of cardio­ vascular risk factors.