Heat maps transform complex risk assessments into intuitive visuals where position indicates severity and color (typically green-yellow-red) signals priority level. Risks in the red zone (high likelihood, high impact) demand immediate treatment, while green zone risks may be accepted. A healthcare system's heat map might show cyberattacks and regulatory penalties in the red zone, equipment failures in yellow, and minor compliance issues in green. While heat maps effectively communicate risk profiles to boards and executives, they oversimplify by collapsing multidimensional risks into two axes and can create false precision if assessment scales are poorly calibrated.