Physician Resources

This page contains practical and useful links for Physicians and other health care workers to visit to learn more about testing and other cardiac related topics.

*Please Note: Although the following sites are considered to be reputable within the academic and clinical medical communities, TotalCardiology does not necessarily endorse all or any specific parts of the contents presented within these sites. TotalCardiology accepts no responsibility for any errors that may be present within these sites or result from using these sites.

Sections on this Page

How to Choose a cardiac test wisely...maximize benefits and minimize risks to patients

Appropriateness criteria for Cardio-Diagnostic Tests
Provides a summary of each test and the appropriate criteria for ordering that test.
MPI and Regular Stress Test Q & A
Information to help you decide when to use an MPI Stress Test vs. a regular Exercise Stress test.

Risk Stratification Engine

ASCVD
Pooled Cohort Risk Assessment - predicts 10-year risk for a first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event.
Framingham Coronary Heart Disease Risk Score
The Framingham Risk Score estimates risk of heart attack in 10 years.
Reynolds Risk Score
The Reynolds Risk Score is another method of estimating the risk of Heart Attack within the next 10 years.
HEART Score for Major Cardiac Events
Predicts 6-week risk of major adverse cardiac event.
Revised Cardiac Risk Index for Pre-Operative Risk
Estimates risk of cardiac complications after surgery.
GRACE ACS Risk and Mortality Calculator
Estimates admission-6 month mortality for patients with acute coronary syndrome.
TIMI Risk Index
Provides mortality estimate in patients with ACS using only blood pressure, heart rate, and age.
TIMI Risk Score for UA/NSTEMI
Estimates mortality for patients with unstable angina and non-ST elevation MI.
TIMI Risk Score for STEMI
Estimates mortality in patients with STEMI.
Modified NIH Stroke Scale/Score (mNIHSS)
Shortened, validated version of the NIHSS.
Emergency Heart Failure Mortality Risk Grade (EHMRG)
Estimates 7-day mortality of emergency CHF patients.
Subtle Anterior STEMI Calculator
Differentiates early repolarization from anterior STEMI.
Sgarbossa’s Criteria for MI in Left Bundle Branch Block
Criteria to diagnose acute MI in patients with prior LBBB.

Risk Calculators for Atrial Fibrillation/Flutter

CHADS₂ Score for Atrial Fibrillation Stroke Risk
Estimates stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation.
CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score for Atrial Fibrillation Stroke Risk
Calculates stroke risk for patients with atrial fibrillation, possibly better than the CHADS₂ score.
HAS-BLED Score for Major Bleeding Risk
Estimates risk of major bleeding for patients on anticoagulants to assess risk-benefit in atrial fibrillation care.
ATRIA Bleeding Risk Score
Determines bleeding risk for patients on Warfarin.

Renal Function related Calculators

Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) Analyzer
Interprets ABG.
Sodium Correction Rate in Hyponatremia
Calculates recommended fluid type, rate, and volume, to correct hyponatremia slowly (or more rapidly if seizing).
Phenytoin Correction for Albumin/Renal Failure
Corrects a Phenytoin serum level for renal failure and/or hypoalbuminemia.
Winters' formula for Metabolic Acidosis Compensation
Calculates the expected pCO₂ compensation in a purely metabolic acidosis.
Free Water Deficit in Hypernatremia
Calculates free water deficit by estimated total body water.
Sodium Deficit in Hyponatremia
Calculates sodium quantity missing in hyponatremia.
Serum Osmolality/Osmolarity
Calculates expected serum osmolarity, for comparison to measured osmolarity to detect umeasured compounds in the serum.
MDRD GFR Equation
Estimates glomerular filtration rate based on creatinine and patient characteristics.
Maintenance Fluids Calculations
Calculates pediatric maintenance fluid requirements by weight.
Fractional Excretion of Urea (FEUrea)
Determines the cause of renal failure.
Fractional Excretion of Sodium (FENa)
Determines if renal failure is due to pre-renal, post-renal, or intrinsic renal pathology.
Creatinine Clearance (Cockcroft-Gault Equation)
Calculates CrCl according to the Cockcroft-Gault equation.
Calcium Correction for Hypoalbuminemia
Calculates a corrected calcium level for patients with hypoalbuminemia.
Bicarbonate Deficit
Calculates the total body bicarbonate deficit.
Anion Gap
Evaluates states of metabolic acidosis
A-a O₂ Gradient
Assesses for degree of shunting and V/Q mismatch.

Miscellaneous Risk Engines

Duke Activity Score Index (DASI)
Used to estimate Metabolic Equivalent and Functional Capacity
Geneva Score (Revised) for Pulmonary Embolism
Objectifies risk of Pulmonary Embolism, similar to Well's Score.
Duke Criteria for Infective Endocarditis
Diagnostic criteria for endocarditis.
Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI)
Predicts 30-day outcome of patients with pulmonary embolism using 11 clinical criteria.
Simplified PESI (Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index)
Predicts 30-day outcome of patients with PE. Fewer criteria than the original PESI.
Wells' Criteria for Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
Calculates Wells' Score for risk of DVT.
PERC Rule for Pulmonary Embolism (PE)
Rules out PE if all criteria are present and pre-test probability is ≤ 15%
Wells' Criteria for Pulmonary Embolism (PE)
Objectifies risk of PE
San Francisco Syncope Rule to predict serious outcomes
Defines high-risk criteria for patients with syncope.
LDL Cholesterol - Calculated
Calculated LDL based on total and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
Corrected QT Interval (QTc)
Corrects the QT Interval for heart rate extremes.