Arterial Age Calculator — Vascular Age (Framingham CHD Risk)

Formula

How this is calculated

The Framingham Heart Study has followed thousands of adults in Framingham, Massachusetts since 1948, generating some of the most cited cardiovascular risk equations in medicine. The NCEP ATP III (2002) point-scoring system translates five risk factors — age, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure (with a higher penalty if you are on blood pressure medication, because treated high BP still carries residual risk), and current cigarette smoking — into a total point score. The cholesterol and smoking points are age-banded because the relative risk of high cholesterol declines with advancing age, whereas absolute risk still rises.

The point total maps to a 10-year CHD risk percentage via a published table (men: ≤0 points → 1%; 17+ points → ≥30%. Women use a higher point threshold because coronary events occur later in life). "Vascular age" — sometimes called heart age or arterial age — is a communication tool: it translates the 10-year risk percentage back into the average chronological age at which a Framingham participant had that same risk level. If your risk at age 45 matches the average for a 60-year-old, your vascular age is approximately 60.

This calculator follows the published tables exactly, including the asymmetric penalty for treated versus untreated hypertension and the age-stratified cholesterol and smoking point schedules. It does not include diabetes, family history or newer biomarkers (hs-CRP, coronary artery calcium score) — those require more comprehensive scores such as QRISK3 or the ACC/AHA 2013 Pooled Cohort Equations. Results are for educational awareness only; clinical cardiovascular risk assessment and treatment decisions require evaluation by a qualified clinician.