Heart health
Framingham Risk Score and heart age
FRS
Included in Baseline and Complete.
Compare membershipsA 10-year view of your cardiovascular risk.
The Framingham Risk Score estimates your chance of developing cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years. It's calculated from your age, sex, cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes status, and heart age expresses the same estimate as an age.
Heart age turns a percentage into something easier to picture.
Your heart age is the age of a person with the same estimated risk whose risk factors are all in a healthy range. The Canadian Cardiovascular Society recommends the Framingham score to estimate risk, and its calculator reports heart age alongside it.
The score is a population estimate. It describes the average risk of people with results like yours, and it can't say what will happen to any one person. It uses the blood pressure reading taken during at-home visits, and you may be asked to confirm your smoking and diabetes history.
Heart age compares your risk with someone whose risk factors are healthy.
Questions
What if my heart age is older than my real age?
It means your current risk factors put your estimated risk above that of someone your age with healthy levels. Blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking can all change, and when they do, your heart age can come down.
What does the score leave out?
It doesn't include factors such as Lp(a), ApoB, or kidney health. The Canadian version also doubles the estimate for some adults with a family history of early heart disease. A clinician weighs these alongside your score.
What happens if my estimated risk is higher?
A higher estimate is a reason to look closely at the factors you can change. Your nurse practitioner reviews your results, including this score, and your coach can help you work on those factors. Your family doctor can talk through whether treatment makes sense.
Sources and references