Jun 23, 2025
Contributor: Taylor Lynch, MD
Educational Pearls:
How do we risk-stratify chest-pain patients?
- One option is the HEART score
- This score predicts a patient’s 6-week risk of a major adverse cardiac event.
- Ex. Cath procedure, CABG, PCI, death
- This score predicts a patient’s 6-week risk of a major adverse cardiac event.
- H stands for History
- Ask 1) Was the patient diaphoretic? 2) Did they have nausea and/or vomiting? 3) Did the pain radiate down the right or left arm? 4) Was it exertional?
- Yes to one = one point. Two or more = two points.
- E stands for EKG
- One point for left ventricular hypertrophy, t-wave inversions, new bundle-branch blocks.
- No points for first degree AV block, benign early repolarization, or QT-prolongation
- Two points for ST-depression
- A stands for Age
- >65 gets two points
- 45-64 gets one point
- R stands for Risk factors
- Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, family history, smoking, previous MI, previous CABG, stroke, peripheral arterial disease
- 1-2 risk factors get 1 point
- More than two risk factors gets two points
- T stands for Troponin
- 1-3x upper limit of normal gets one point
- >3x upper limit of normal gets two points
- This gives you a score between zero and ten
- 0-3 points, patients have a ~2% chance of an adverse event
- These patients likely go home
- 4-6 points, patients have a ~20% chance of an adverse event
- These patients get admitted or expedited outpatient stress test/echo
- 7-10 points, patients have a ~60% chance of an adverse event
- Admit and call cardiology.
- These patients likely get catheterized
- 0-3 points, patients have a ~2% chance of an adverse event
References
- Backus BE, Six AJ, Kelder JC, Bosschaert MA, Mast EG, Mosterd A, Veldkamp RF, Wardeh AJ, Tio R, Braam R, Monnink SH, van Tooren R, Mast TP, van den Akker F, Cramer MJ, Poldervaart JM, Hoes AW, Doevendans PA. A prospective validation of the HEART score for chest pain patients at the emergency department. Int J Cardiol. 2013 Oct 3;168(3):2153-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2013.01.255. Epub 2013 Mar 7. PMID: 23465250.
- Laureano-Phillips J, Robinson RD, Aryal S, Blair S, Wilson D, Boyd K, Schrader CD, Zenarosa NR, Wang H. HEART Score Risk Stratification of Low-Risk Chest Pain Patients in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Ann Emerg Med. 2019 Aug;74(2):187-203. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2018.12.010. Epub 2019 Feb 2. PMID: 30718010.
- https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/1752/heart-score-major-cardiac-events
