Hypertension is the most important modifiable risk factor for coronary heart disease (the leading cause of death in North America), stroke (the third leading cause), congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease, and peripheral vascular disease.
The results of a survey or a cross-sectional study can also be used to estimate the relative risk. Kuzma uses the data from a community health survey of retirees to study the relationship between smoking and heart disease. The data are given in the table. Does the retiree have heart disease? (Is the disease present?) YES NO Total
Some books take a slightly different approach and define risk management as the overarching concept, where risk analysis is the component that seeks to identify and measure the risks and risk mitigation is determining what to do about the risks. Risk analysis can be qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative risk analysis uses words or colors to identify and evaluate risks or presents a written description of the risk, and quantitative risk analysis (QRA) calculates numerical probabilities over the possible consequences.