CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score for Atrial Fibrillation Stroke Risk

CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score

In case if the physicians are looking to consider some important things, then this calculation initiates with the old questions of CHADS₂ which are already included but the three more are also needed to be included.

CHA₂DS₂ score and its revised concept known as CHA₂DS₂-VASC are foretelling methods used in the medical world for computing the chances of stroke in the patients. Those patients are suffering from non-rheumatic fibrillation (AF), many people have not heard of it.

What is CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score?

It is basically evident and extreme heart arrhythmia related to thromboembolic stroke. This score gives an idea of treatment is needed with the therapeutic anti-coagulation or therapy of antiplatelets. As non-rheumatic fibrillation or AF can lead to stability of blood in the heart chambers present above. It can develop mural thrombus which can hinder the flow of blood to the brain and can turn into a stroke.

• V: The letter V stands for Vascular disease. It suggests that one’s blood vessels are having a problem. When a patient is having this then he or she will get 1 point.

• A: Furthermore, the alphabet A refers to the Age. When a person is between the ages of 64 to 74 then that gives a person 1 point.

• Sc: The letters S and C are talking about the Sex category or gender. If the patient is a woman then she will get one point on the basis of it.

CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score Criteria

The combination of the score of CHADS₂ and VASC will be 9 points in total. The scoring criteria for it are the same as CHADS₂. In the year 2014, the three organizations including, the Heart Rhythm Society, American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, collaborated and highlighted to forecast the likelihood of stroke for the people suffering from AFib. The European Society of Cardiology approved this methodology of scoring.

However, there are still some medical experts who are having a different idea related to the system which is appropriate for the people. For example, some physicians consider that CHA₂DS₂-VASc is appropriate for patients who have fewer chances of a stroke. Still, there are some specialists who think that CHA₂DS₂ is the best. There is one case where they have a perception that if a patient is a female then that would increase the possibility of having a stroke.

There are some physicians who studied that CHA₂DS₂ worked well with the people who were 65 years or older. In that research, the people whose scoring of CHA₂DS₂ was either 3 or more were having more possibility of having a stroke than those patients who were having a score of either 1 or 2.

The researchers are also considering another form of CHADS₂ which is known as R₂CHADS₂. The alphabet R means renal failure, which is the same as the failure of the kidney. The reason for coming to such a point is that kidney disease is related to the possibility of a stroke. The R₂CHADS₂ helps the patient to add 2 points if a person is having long-lasting disease of a kidney. But, this stage requires further research in order to make physicians make use of it.

Use of CHADS₂ Score

Although, in reality, the CHADS₂ was designed for the patients suffering from AFib, some medical experts have an opinion that they are usable for the other matters of the heart as well. In order to support this research, according to one perception CHADS₂ can assist in foretelling the likelihood of heart attack in the patients who are having coronary artery disease. This is the situation when the blood vessels which transport the blood in a person’s heart are jammed and the heart is not able to receive the blood and oxygen it requires.