What Is a CHADS Score?
The CHADS scoring system is used by healthcare professionals to calculate a patient’s risk of having a stroke secondary to atrial fibrillation (AFib). To calculate their CHADS score, patients are assigned points based on their risk factors for stroke. The decision to use oral anticoagulant treatment to prevent stroke in patients with AFib is based on the CHADS score.
What Does CHADS2 Score Stand For?
CHADS stands for the factors used in the scoring system:
- Congestive heart failure
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Age 75 years or older
- Diabetes mellitus
- Stroke
These factors are assigned a point score. If the patient has a certain stroke risk factor, they get a point on the CHADS scale:
| Score | CHADS2 Risk Criteria |
|---|---|
| 1 point | Congestive heart failure |
| 1 point | Hypertension |
| 1 point | Age 75 years or older |
| 1 point | Diabetes mellitus |
| 2 point | Stroke/transient ischemic attack |
CHADS2 vs. CHA2DS2-VASc
The original CHADS scoring system study came out in 2001 and has since been further refined into the CHA2DS2-VASc, which adds evidence of vascular disease and the sex of the patient to the original CHADS scoring system.
| Score | CHA2DS2-VASc Risk Criteria |
|---|---|
| 1 point | Congestive heart failure |
| 1 point | Hypertension |
| 2 points | Age 75 years or older |
| 1 point | Diabetes mellitus |
| 2 points | Stroke/Transient Ischemic Attack/Thromboembolic event |
| 1 point | Vascular disease (prior heart attack, peripheral artery disease, or aortic plaque) |
| 1 point | Age 65 to 74 years |
| 1 point | Sex category (e.g. female) |
Based on the CHA2DS2-VASc scoring, men who score at least one point and women who score at least 2 points should be started on oral anticoagulants to reduce risk of stroke.
