Heart Age Calculator (Framingham 2008)
This page uses the published Framingham general cardiovascular risk equation (D'Agostino et al., 2008). It needs measured total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure. It gives a 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease and a "heart age": the age of someone with the same risk whose numbers are all at the paper's normal levels.
Before you start
Method : Published Framingham general CVD equation (D'Agostino 2008), using your measured values.
Validation : The equation is validated in its source population (ages 30–74, no prior heart disease). This site's code reproduces the paper's worked examples; it has not been validated separately for other populations.
Review : not reviewed by a qualified clinician. Educational only — not a diagnosis or a medical test.
Chest pain or pressure is an emergency — call emergency services.
Your answers stay in this browser tab; nothing is sent or stored.
Enter your measured values, then press Calculate.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your sex and age (30–74).
- Enter cholesterol and HDL from a blood test (mg/dL or mmol/L) and your systolic (top) blood pressure.
- Answer the three yes/no questions and press Calculate.
Methodology & assumptions
10-year risk = 1 − S₀^exp(Σβx − mean), with the sex-specific coefficients, baseline survival and means in Table 2 of the paper (log of age, total cholesterol, HDL and systolic pressure, with a separate coefficient when blood pressure is treated; smoking and diabetes as yes/no). Heart age solves the same equation for the age at which a person with untreated systolic 125 mmHg, total cholesterol 180 mg/dL, HDL 45 mg/dL, non-smoking and non-diabetic has your risk. mmol/L values are converted with × 38.67.
Worked examples
Paper example (woman): 61, cholesterol 180, HDL 47, systolic 124 untreated, smoker, no diabetes → risk 10.5% (paper: 10.5%). Heart age ≈75; the paper's printed sheet, which uses bands, shows 73.
Paper example (man): 53, cholesterol 161, HDL 55, systolic 125 treated, non-smoker, diabetic → risk 15.6% (paper: 15.6%), heart age 64 (paper: 64).
Understanding your result
The risk is an average for people with numbers like yours, not a prediction for you. Treating a heart age as a precise number is misleading: small changes in one reading move it by several years. Results are less reliable outside the original population and do not apply if you already have heart disease.
Sources & further reading
- D'Agostino RB Sr, Vasan RS, Pencina MJ, et al. General cardiovascular risk profile for use in primary care: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation 2008;117(6):743-753.
- NHS. Heart Age Test (UK-validated alternative).
Both worked examples are the paper's own Appendix cases and are checked in this site's automated tests.
Frequently Asked Questions
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