Your heart age (sometimes called vascular age) is one of the most intuitive ways to understand cardiovascular risk. Instead of an abstract percentage, it answers a simple question: given your blood pressure, cholesterol and other risk factors, how old is your cardiovascular system behaving? If your heart age is higher than your real age, your risk factors are ageing your arteries faster than the calendar.
This calculator estimates your 10-year risk of a cardiovascular event and your heart age using the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk model (D’Agostino et al., Circulation 2008) — the same validated, fully published equations used in primary care worldwide.
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This is an estimate to start a conversation, not a diagnosis. It is validated for adults aged 30–74 with no existing heart disease, stroke or diabetes complications. It does not capture family history, lipoprotein(a), coronary calcium, ApoB or ethnicity — all of which can move your true risk substantially. Bring the result to your own doctor rather than acting on it alone.
Method & limitations
Risk and heart age are computed from the sex-specific Framingham General Cardiovascular Disease equations published by D’Agostino RB et al., Circulation 2008;117:743–753. The model uses age, total and HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure (and whether it is treated), smoking and diabetes to estimate 10-year risk of a first cardiovascular event. Heart age is the age at which someone with optimal risk factors (total cholesterol 180 mg/dL, HDL 45 mg/dL, untreated systolic 125 mmHg, non-smoker, non-diabetic) would carry the same risk.
Important caveats: the equations were derived in a predominantly white North-American cohort. They tend to over-estimate risk in some East-Asian populations and under-estimate it in South-Asian and some other groups, and they don’t include family history, lipoprotein(a), ApoB or a coronary calcium score. They are not validated below age 30, above 74, or in people who already have cardiovascular disease. Treat the number as a prompt for a fuller assessment, not a verdict.
Frequently asked questions
What is heart age?
Your heart age (or vascular age) is the age of a person who has your level of cardiovascular risk but otherwise healthy risk factors. If it is higher than your real age, your blood pressure, cholesterol or other factors are ageing your arteries faster than the calendar.
What is a good 10-year cardiovascular risk score?
Broadly, under 10% is considered lower risk, 10–20% moderate, and 20% or more higher risk over the next ten years. The right target depends on your age and overall health — but lower is always better.
Is a heart age calculator accurate?
It is a validated population estimate, not a diagnosis. It does not capture family history, lipoprotein(a), ApoB or a coronary calcium score, and is not calibrated for Asian populations. Use it to start a conversation with your own doctor.