Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD)
Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD)
Acronyms & Glossary
Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
A1c | Hemoglobin A1c; a measure of average blood glucose |
ACC | American College of Cardiology |
ACS | Acute coronary syndrome |
AHA | American Heart Association |
Angina | Symptoms caused by inadequate blood flow to the heart muscle |
ApoB | Apolipoprotein B; a marker of atherogenic particle number |
ASCVD | Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease |
Atherosclerosis | Plaque buildup in artery walls |
CAC | Coronary artery calcium |
CAD | Coronary artery disease |
CKD | Chronic kidney disease |
FH | Familial hypercholesterolemia |
GLP-1 | Glucagon-like peptide-1 |
HDL-C | High-density lipoprotein cholesterol |
HIV | Human immunodeficiency virus |
LDL-C | Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol |
Lp(a) | Lipoprotein(a); an inherited lipid-related risk factor |
LVEF | Left ventricular ejection fraction |
MI | Myocardial infarction |
Non–HDL-C | Total cholesterol minus HDL-C |
P2Y12 inhibitor | An antiplatelet drug that blocks the platelet P2Y12 receptor |
PAD | Peripheral artery disease |
PCI | Percutaneous coronary intervention |
PCSK9 | Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 |
PREVENT | Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Events; use PREVENT-ASCVD for ASCVD risk estimates |
Primary prevention | Preventing a first ASCVD event |
SGLT2 | Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 |
Subclinical atherosclerosis | Plaque detected before clinical symptoms or events |
Resources & References
Guidelines
Full guidelines, practical tools, and supporting publications are listed separately below.
- 2026 ACC/AHA Dyslipidemia Guideline
- 2023 AHA/ACC Chronic Coronary Disease Guideline
- 2025 ACC/AHA Acute Coronary Syndromes Guideline
- 2025 AHA/ACC High Blood Pressure Guideline
- ADA Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026: Cardiovascular Disease and Risk Management
- 2021 AHA/ACC Chest Pain Guideline—Executive Summary
- 2019 ACC/AHA Primary Prevention Guideline—aspirin and lifestyle guidance
*For lipid management and risk estimation, use the 2026 dyslipidemia guideline rather than the older lipid recommendations in the 2019 prevention guideline.
Additional guidance & clinical tools
- 2026 Dyslipidemia Guideline-at-a-Glance—implementation summary
- 2026 ACC Antiplatelet Therapy Scientific Statement
- 2025 ESC/EAS Focused Update on Dyslipidaemias
- 2025 AACE Dyslipidemia Consensus Algorithm
- AHA PREVENT calculator
- Vasculearn Network Lp(a) Clinician Toolkit
- ACC Lipid Manager
- JACC Chest Pain Interactive Tool—evaluation and testing pathways
- 2022 ACC Acute Chest Pain Decision Pathway—emergency department evaluation and disposition
- ADA 2026 Pharmacologic Treatment Tables—agent-specific cardiovascular and kidney benefits
- AHA scientific statement on implementing prevention to eliminate health care inequities
References
1. Blumenthal RS, Morris PB, Gaudino M, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2026;87(19):2624-2757. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2025.11.016
2. Virani SS, Newby LK, Arnold SV, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2023;82(9):833-955. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2023.04.003
3. Rao SV, O’Donoghue ML, Ruel M, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2025;85(22):2135-2237. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2024.11.009
4. Gulati M, Levy PD, Mukherjee D, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2021;78(22):2218-2261. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.07.052
5. Mach F, Koskinas KC, Roeters van Lennep JE, et al. Eur Heart J. 2025;46(42):4359-4378. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf190
6. Patel SB, Belalcazar LM, Afreen S, et al. Endocr Pract. 2025;31(10):1207-1238. doi:10.1016/j.eprac.2025.07.014
7. Wiggins BS, Barac A, Benziger CP, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2026;87(19):2617-2623. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2026.02.4872
8. Lee YJ, Lee SJ, Kim JW, et al. N Engl J Med. 2026;394(14):1365-1375. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2600283
9. Kumbhani DJ, Gibson CM, Kinlay S, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2026;88(11):1284-1313. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2026.05.037
10. Jones DW, Ferdinand KC, Taler SJ, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2025;86(18):1567-1678. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2025.05.007
11. Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;74(10):e177-e232. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2019.03.010
12. American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee for Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2026;49(suppl 1):S216-S245. doi:10.2337/dc26-S010
13. Agarwala A, Patel J, Stephens J, et al. Circulation. 2023;148(15):1183-1193. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001171
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