010-111 Question #103: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

The correct answer is B. High serum HDL cholesterol > 60 mg/dl (1.6mmol/L). Per ACSM cardiovascular risk stratification guidelines, a serum HDL cholesterol level greater than 60 mg/dL is designated as a negative risk factor, allowing one positive risk factor to be subtracted from the total count.

Question

Which of the following risk factors for coronary heart disease enables you to subtract one risk factor from the total amount of positive risk factors?

Options

ABody Mass Index < 30 kg/m2
BHigh serum HDL cholesterol > 60 mg/dl (1.6mmol/L)
CFasting blood glucose of < 110mg/dL (6.1 mmol/L)
DA former cigarette smoker who stopped more than six months ago.

Explanation

Per ACSM cardiovascular risk stratification guidelines, a serum HDL cholesterol level greater than 60 mg/dL is designated as a negative risk factor, allowing one positive risk factor to be subtracted from the total count.

Common mistakes.

A. A BMI below 30 kg/m2 simply falls beneath the obesity threshold and is not classified as a negative risk factor in ACSM guidelines; it does not confer a subtraction from the positive risk factor total.
C. A fasting blood glucose below 110 mg/dL is within a normal range and means the prediabetes/diabetes positive risk factor criterion is not triggered, but it is not itself a defined negative risk factor that enables subtraction.
D. Quitting smoking for more than six months eliminates the cigarette smoking positive risk factor from the count entirely; it does not function as a separate negative risk factor that subtracts an additional point from the total.

Concept tested. ACSM negative risk factor for coronary heart disease

Reference. https://www.acsm.org/education-resources/books/guidelines-exercise-testing-prescription

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