Comparison

CVD Risk Estimator Plus vs APEA

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CVD Risk Estimator Plus

This clinical decision support app provides comprehensive cardiovascular disease risk assessments for clinicians. It unifies two major risk calculators, incorporating traditional ASCVD modeling with modern kidney and metabolic health measures for personalized patient care.

Highlights
  • Combines ASCVD and PREVENT calculators
  • Calculates 10-year and lifetime CVD risk
  • Incorporates kidney and metabolic health
  • Provides risk category classification
  • Exports results for documentation
  • Includes clinician and patient resources
Features
Read full description

This clinical decision-support app is intended for use by healthcare professionals and unifies two cardiovascular prevention tools: the 2013 ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort Equations (previously known as the ASCVD Risk Estimator) and the American Heart Association’s PREVENT™ Calculator. Combining traditional ASCVD risk modeling with modern cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM)-inclusive risk equations, CVD Risk Estimator Plus supports comprehensive, personalized cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment and clinician-guided decision-making. The results and recommendations provided by this application are intended to inform but do not replace clinical judgment. Therapeutic options should be individualized and determined after discussion between the patient and their care provider. CVD Risk Estimator Plus computes risk estimates using: • 2013 ASCVD Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE), which calculate 10-year and lifetime risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease using age, sex, race, blood pressure, cholesterol profile, diabetes status, and smoking status. • 2023 PREVENT™ Equations, which estimate 10- and 30-year risk for total CVD, ASCVD, and heart failure (HF), incorporating kidney and metabolic health measures such as BMI and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and supporting optional predictors including urine albumin creatinine ratio (UACR), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and social deprivation index (SDI). Clinicians can toggle between Pooled Cohort and PREVENT™ risk trajectories to support guideline-aligned prevention discussions. This clinical decision support app provides: • Risk category classification (low, borderline, intermediate, high). • Personalized guidance informed by published guidelines, including statin therapy considerations, lifestyle interventions, and risk-enhancing clinical factors. • Export functionality supporting print and email of results for documentation and patient communication. • Resources page with related tools and informational materials for clinicians and patients, including links to source guidelines and reference documents.

About

APEA

Access free media content, video and audio courses, and continuing education lectures. Features a mobile reference for primary care with concise diagnosis and treatment information for over 370 conditions.

Highlights
  • Free media content and guidance
  • Video and audio CE courses
  • Downloadable CE certificates
  • Mobile primary care reference
  • Diagnosis and treatment information
  • View recent activity
  • Direct contact with APEA
Features
Read full description

New! The new APEA app, launched in 2020, delivers fast, reliable access to your APEA resources. Highlights of the new APEA app include: • Access free media content to receive prescribing pearls and other valuable guidance for study and practice. • Watch video courses and CE lectures in the CE Center. Access the Course Manual, complete the evaluation, and download your contact hour certificate—all within the app! • Download and listen to audio courses and CE lectures. Access the Course Manual, complete the evaluation and download your contact hour certificate—all within the app! • Access your CareOnPoint account wherever you have an internet connection. CareOnPoint is a mobile reference for primary care that provides concise diagnosis and treatment information on more than 370 diagnoses. It features anatomical illustrations, prescribing charts and other images to enhance patient care decisions—all accessible within the app! • View your recent activity from the main menu. • Contact APEA directly from within the app. Since 1997, Advanced Practice Education Associates (APEA) has been preparing NP students for success on their certification exams and meeting their continuing education needs throughout their careers. APEA review courses are known for their clarity and effective teaching methods. Students absorb and learn the material because the instructors present the information in ways that build knowledge and retention. Here are just a few comments from our thousands of satisfied customers: • “The knowledge that I gained was invaluable and I felt like it pulled together 2 years of classes that were patchwork. I took boards and much of the material Dr. Hollier reviewed was on the exam. I highly recommend this review course and plan to attend more courses for contact hours.” • “I found the APEA live review course extremely helpful. Everything I have learned the past two years came full circle. I never once lost focus as Dr. Hollier kept things lively.” • “The factor that sets APEA leaps and bounds above the other is their delivery. … the speakers are energetic and really drive home the concepts necessary to be successful to pass board exams. I felt the presenters were genuinely vested in my success. I did not feel the same with other review programs that are available for purchase, and that I had purchased. I encourage other students to utilize APEA to prepare for their future as an advanced practice provider.” In addition to presenting live and on demand review courses and clinical updates, APEA develops clinical resources, question banks and test banks and publishes evidence-based reference books and mobile reference tools used in practice every day.

Screenshots

CVD Risk Estimator Plus4 screens
APEA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: CVD Risk Estimator Plus at 5.0 against APEA's 2.3. CVD Risk Estimator Plus also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (32% vs 20%). APEA's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (51 vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. APEA sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. CVD Risk Estimator Plus asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CVD Risk Estimator Plus holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: APEA has 51 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of CVD Risk Estimator Plus's written reviews are positive against 20% of APEA's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CVD Risk Estimator Plus ships an update every 4 months, APEA every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 19, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
CVD Risk Estimator Plus versus APEA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCVD Risk Estimator PlusAPEA
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better2.3 (51 ratings)
Positive reviews31.6% of reviews — better19.7% of reviews
Number of ratings151 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.013
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB11 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperAmerican College of CardiologyAdvanced Practice Education Associates, LLC.

Customer experience

CVD Risk Estimator Plus

All ratings37 ratings
Positive48.6%
Neutral21.6%
Negative29.7%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive31.6%
Neutral23.7%
Negative44.7%

APEA

All ratings51 ratings
Positive29.4%
Neutral3.9%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive19.7%
Neutral8.2%
Negative72.1%

Bugs and requests

CVD Risk Estimator Plus

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

APEA

Reported bugs

66 issues
  • App never works
  • Videos freeze
  • Videos don't register as watched
  • Pausing lectures resets them
  • Fast forward/rewind only in 10-second intervals
Show 61 more
  • Women's health loaded in men's health
  • Lectures reset to 0 when paused
  • Black screen with timer running
  • Questions are glitchy and freeze
  • Need to log out and back in frequently
  • App opens website in external browser
  • Videos never load
  • App kicks users out
  • Constantly reloading screens
  • Switching back and forth from devices
  • Three bars on top right do not work
  • App OpenSSL and shows recent activity
  • App just flat out doesn't work
  • Blank page when opening app
  • Menu button does nothing
  • Deleting and re-downloading app doesn't fix issues
  • Audio won't play with a locked screen
  • "X" button to exit recording not tappable in portrait mode
  • App doesn't allow rewinding
  • Forces watching videos in order
  • Lectures automatically stop
  • Lecture times are inaccurate
  • App registers completed activities incorrectly
  • Only one login at a time
  • App stopped working, cannot access files or question bank
  • App freezes around 30th question
  • Quizzes freeze
  • Cannot choose certain types of quizzes
  • Cannot log in
  • Wheel of death appears when moving to next question
  • Qbanks freeze
  • App crashes
  • Terrible update
  • Takes forever to load
  • Cannot do more than five questions at a time
  • Audio course loads slowly
  • App doesn't load, says "downloading content"
  • Kicks out when reviewing for certificate
  • Shows unviewed segments despite completion
  • App doesn't log on
  • Continually kicks out when trying to log in
  • Cannot order reviews due to app issues
  • Lectures failed to load
  • Unable to rewind without restarting lecture
  • Constantly having to re-sign in
  • Cannot resume saved exams from the app
  • Cannot stay logged into the app
  • Need to log back in to pick another test
  • App doesn't work with latest Apple update
  • Cannot even login
  • App says sync in progress, try again later
  • App is down often
  • App automatically closes when clicking CE Center
  • Login failed, incorrect format
  • Cannot log in to practice on the go
  • Invalid login message
  • Has to log in every time after recent update
  • Syncing Qbank takes a long time
  • Delay in rationale for an answer
  • App never leaves the sign-in screen
  • App says it's downloading content but never leaves sign-in screen

Requested features

12 requests
  • Allow resuming saved exams from the app
  • Allow staying logged into the app
  • Add more question sets
  • Improve UI formatting for iPhones
  • Fix UI elements that are not tappable
Show 7 more
  • Allow users to choose which videos to watch
  • Provide a script for lectures for better quality control
  • Fix horizontal video playback issues
  • Fix the "quit" button functionality
  • Allow users to select quiz settings once
  • Allow multiple logins on different devices simultaneously
  • Fix the issue where users have to log in every time

In-app purchases

None

CVD Risk Estimator Plus

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

APEA

One-time3
  • MyQBank 20 Questions$0.99
  • Clinical Brief$7.99
  • CareOnPoint$14.99

Questions

Is CVD Risk Estimator Plus free?
CVD Risk Estimator Plus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is APEA free?
APEA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CVD Risk Estimator Plus or APEA?
CVD Risk Estimator Plus is rated higher. CVD Risk Estimator Plus averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while APEA averages 2.3 from 51 ratings.
Do CVD Risk Estimator Plus or APEA have ads?
Neither CVD Risk Estimator Plus nor APEA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CVD Risk Estimator Plus or APEA?
CVD Risk Estimator Plus ships an update every 4 months, and APEA every 3 weeks. Most recently, CVD Risk Estimator Plus was updated on June 19, 2026 and APEA on September 17, 2026.

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