Figure 1. Schematic of Model-Based Cost-effectiveness Analyses.

The schematic provides an overview of the model population (steps 1 and 2), modeling approach (steps 3-5), and cost-effectiveness analysis (step 6). Individuals started the microsimulation model (step 5) in either the no cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic coronary heart disease (CHD), or chronic stroke health states depending on their disease history. The curled arrows indicate that simulated patients in the model can stay in the same disease state in the next model cycle. LDL-C indicates low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; MI, myocardial infarction; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; and QALY, quality-adjusted life-year.