Estimate your 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
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Female
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Medical Disclaimer: This calculator provides an estimate based on the Pooled Cohort Equations. It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional regarding your heart health and before making any changes to medication.
Understanding Your Cardiovascular Risk Score
The ASCVD (Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease) risk calculator is a vital tool used by clinicians to estimate the probability of an individual experiencing a "hard" cardiac event, such as a heart attack or stroke, within the next 10 years. This calculation is based on the Pooled Cohort Equations, which integrate multiple physiological and lifestyle factors.
Key Factors Influencing Heart Health
Age: As blood vessels naturally lose elasticity over time, age remains the strongest predictor of cardiovascular risk.
Cholesterol Levels: Total cholesterol provides a snapshot of fats in the blood, while HDL (high-density lipoprotein) acts as "good" cholesterol, helping to clear pathways. A low HDL level is a significant risk factor.
Blood Pressure: Systolic blood pressure (the top number) measures the force of blood against artery walls. Chronic hypertension causes micro-damage to these walls, leading to plaque buildup.
Lifestyle Choices: Smoking significantly accelerates the hardening of arteries. Similarly, diabetes alters how the body handles fats and sugars, drastically increasing the risk of vessel damage.
Interpretation of Risk Categories
Medical guidelines generally categorize the results into four main tiers:
Low Risk (<5%): Maintain a healthy lifestyle with balanced nutrition and exercise.
Borderline Risk (5% to 7.4%): Discuss preventive measures with a doctor, such as dietary changes.
Intermediate Risk (7.5% to 19.9%): Often a point where doctors consider initiating statin therapy or more aggressive lifestyle interventions.
High Risk (≥20%): Immediate and aggressive management of risk factors is typically recommended to prevent future events.
Practical Example
Consider a 60-year-old male with a systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg, total cholesterol of 220 mg/dL, and an HDL of 45 mg/dL. If he is a non-smoker without diabetes, his risk might be around 12% (Intermediate). However, if that same individual smoked, his risk could jump to over 20% (High), demonstrating how lifestyle factors multiply the biological risk.
function calculateCardiacRisk() {
var age = parseFloat(document.getElementById('age').value);
var gender = document.getElementById('gender').value;
var sbp = parseFloat(document.getElementById('systolicBP').value);
var tc = parseFloat(document.getElementById('totalChol').value);
var hdl = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hdlChol').value);
var smoker = document.getElementById('smoker').value === 'yes' ? 1 : 0;
var diabetes = document.getElementById('diabetes').value === 'yes' ? 1 : 0;
var bpMeds = document.getElementById('bpMeds').value === 'yes' ? 1 : 0;
var resultDiv = document.getElementById('cardiacResult');
if (!age || !sbp || !tc || !hdl) {
alert("Please fill in all numerical fields.");
return;
}
if (age 79) {
alert("This specific model is validated for ages 40 to 79.");
return;
}
var lnAge = Math.log(age);
var lnTotalChol = Math.log(tc);
var lnHdl = Math.log(hdl);
var lnSbp = Math.log(sbp);
var s0 = 0;
var meanTerms = 0;
var sumTerms = 0;
// Standardized Coefficients for White populations (most common general web baseline)
if (gender === 'female') {
s0 = 0.96652;
meanTerms = -29.18;
sumTerms = (-29.799 * lnAge) +
(4.884 * Math.pow(lnAge, 2)) +
(13.540 * lnTotalChol) +
(-3.114 * lnAge * lnTotalChol) +
(-13.578 * lnHdl) +
(3.149 * lnAge * lnHdl) +
(bpMeds ? 2.019 * lnSbp : 1.957 * lnSbp) +
(bpMeds ? -0.420 * lnAge * lnSbp : -0.330 * lnAge * lnSbp) +
(0.661 * smoker) +
(0.657 * diabetes);
} else {
s0 = 0.91446;
meanTerms = 61.18;
sumTerms = (12.344 * lnAge) +
(11.853 * lnTotalChol) +
(-2.664 * lnAge * lnTotalChol) +
(-7.990 * lnHdl) +
(1.769 * lnAge * lnHdl) +
(bpMeds ? 1.995 * lnSbp : 1.933 * lnSbp) +
(0.658 * smoker) +
(0.783 * diabetes);
}
var risk = 1 – Math.pow(s0, Math.exp(sumTerms – meanTerms));
var riskPercent = (risk * 100).toFixed(1);
resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
var riskLevel = "";
var cssClass = "";
if (riskPercent = 5 && riskPercent = 7.5 && riskPercent < 20) {
riskLevel = "Intermediate Risk";
cssClass = "risk-intermediate";
} else {
riskLevel = "High Risk";
cssClass = "risk-high";
}
resultDiv.className = cssClass;
resultDiv.innerHTML = "
Your 10-Year Risk Score: " + riskPercent + "%
" +
"Category: " + riskLevel + "" +
"This means your estimated chance of a heart attack or stroke over the next decade is " + riskPercent + "%.";
}