Table 1.

Areas of uncertainty, suggested avenues of research and proposed study models

Research question	Proposed research model
Risk prediction model for determining those with AAV at highest risk of CVD	Prospective and retrospective cohorts can be used to inform on a binary outcome and predictive variables for adverse CV events in AAV. Using regression coefficients to predict CV risk and outcomes in AAV
Association between GTI and CV events	Retrospective cohort study comparing GTI scores and relationship with CV outcomes
Methods to identify early atheromatous disease in AAV	Prospective cohort study looking at the use of imaging to reliably identify early atheromatous disease and correlate with CV events and outcomes
Antiphospholipid antibodies and CV risk	Prospective, long-term cohort study, identifying those with antiphospholipid antibodies and observing the incidence of CV events between patients with and without antibodies
Impact of aspirin in AAV to reduce CV events	Randomized control trial looking at CV outcomes such as MI, stroke and death from CVD
Timing of strategies to address CV risk	Randomized controlled trial comparing a strategy of addressing CV risk early on versus addressing it later, i.e. when in remission
More aggressive imaging to identify occult cardiac and vascular disease	Randomized controlled trial comparing a strategy of early imaging versus standard of care
The role of ACE inhibitors/ARBs and DRI in improving CV events and mortality	Randomized controlled trial looking at effect of ACE inhibitors/ARBs and DRIs on CV events and mortality