Ording AG, et al. - Researchers investigated if a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score could prognosticate stroke risk among people without hospital-diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) and assessed the degree of correlation vs AF subjects. Data from population-based medical registries (1995–2005) that covered all Danish hospitals was analyzed to find patients diagnosed with AF (n=122,980). Then ≤5 non-AF individuals (n=612,723) were matched to each AF subject on individual risk factors included in the CHA₂DS₂-VASc score. Corresponding to a risk variation of 1.8% for ischemic stroke and 3.3% for all-cause stroke, the 10-year risk of ischemic/all-cause stroke was 4.4%/8.8% and 6.2%/12% among non-AF individuals and AF subjects, respectively. The stroke risk was associated with rising CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores in both cohorts, but the absolute risk of ischemic stroke in people without AF surpassed the risk in AF patients in those with CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores ≥5 with an age of <75 years or male. For all-cause stroke, comparable outcomes were seen. The CHA₂DS₂-VASc score correlated with 10-year stroke risk among people without hospital-diagnosed AF. So in male and younger non-AF individuals with CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores ≥5, primary prophylactic anticoagulation therapy may be appropriate.