Screening for Coronary Heart Disease

Release Date: February 2004

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This topic page summarizes the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on screening for coronary heart disease.

Summary of Recommendations / Supporting Documents

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Summary of Recommendations

• The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against routine screening with resting electrocardiography (ECG), exercise treadmill test (ETT), or electron-beam computerized tomography (EBCT) scanning for coronary calcium for either the presence of severe coronary artery stenosis (CAS) or the prediction of coronary heart disease (CHD) events in adults at low risk for CHD events.
  Grade: D Recommendation.
• The USPSTF found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine screening with ECG, ETT, or EBCT scanning for coronary calcium for either the presence of severe CAS or the prediction of CHD events in adults at increased risk for CHD events.
  Grade: I Statement.

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Supporting Documents

Screening for Coronary Heart Disease, February 2004
Recommendation Statement (PDF File, 80 KB; PDF Help)
Summary of the Evidence (PDF File, 245 KB; PDF Help)
Systematic Evidence Review (PDF File, 2 MB; PDF Help)
Patient Brochures and Clinician Fact Sheets
Video: How to Talk with Your Patients When Evidence Is Insufficient (3:20 minutes, Windows Media®)

Note: If you cannot see the captioning in Windows Media® Player, press "CTRL + SHIFT + C" (or select: Play > Captions and Subtitles > Captions).

As part of the USPSTF’s ongoing commitment to clarity about its work and methods, the USPSTF invites public comment on all draft recommendation statements. As a result, the recommendation on screening for coronary heart disease with electrocardiography does not appear with this accompanying background review. The USPSTF invited public comments on its draft recommendation statement on screening for coronary heart disease with electrocardiography from November 30 to December 13, 2011. Once finalized, the recommendation statement will reflect any changes made based on the public comments received and will be available on this page.

Screening for Coronary Heart Disease With Electrocardiography, September 2011
Supporting Article (PDF File, 413 KB; PDF Help)
Evidence Synthesis (PDF File, 3 MB; PDF Help)
Systematic Review of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment Tools (PDF File, 5 MB; PDF Help)

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Current as of December 2011

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Internet Citation:

Screening for Coronary Heart Disease, Topic Page. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsacad.htm

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