[Cardiovascular risk scores: why, how and when to use them?]

Prevention of cardiovascular diseases is a priority for primary care physicians. Scores that stratify individual cardiovascular risk, such as PROCAM/CSLA and SCORE, are simple tools to help physicians to treat patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors in clinical practice. These scores allow physicians to assess individual cardiovascular risk and to prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs and aspirin appropriately and cost-efficiently. They also allow to set target cholesterol levels according to the estimated risk. Each score is a practical tool to support decisions with its advantages and limits.