Advanced Framingham Risk Score Calculator
Estimate your 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease using the Framingham General Cardiovascular Disease Risk model. Enter age, sex, cholesterol levels, systolic blood pressure, hypertension treatment status, smoking status, and diabetes status.
Patient Information
The Framingham General CVD model is designed for adults approximately 30–74 years old who are free of cardiovascular disease at baseline.
Cholesterol
Blood Pressure
Lifestyle and Diabetes
Framingham Risk Result
10-Year Cardiovascular Disease Risk: —
Risk Category: —
Risk Interpretation: Enter your information and calculate your risk.
Risk Visualization:
0%Risk Factor Breakdown
Risk-Factor Visualization
Framingham Model Information
| Risk Factor | Entered Value | Model Status |
|---|
Risk Category Guide
| 10-Year Risk | Category | General Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| < 10% | Low | Lower estimated 10-year cardiovascular risk |
| 10% to <20% | Intermediate | Intermediate estimated 10-year cardiovascular risk |
| ≥ 20% | High | Higher estimated 10-year cardiovascular risk |
About the Framingham Risk Score
The Framingham Risk Score is a family of cardiovascular risk prediction models developed from the long-running Framingham Heart Study. Different Framingham models predict different cardiovascular outcomes, so it is important to identify which version of the calculator is being used.
This calculator uses the Framingham General Cardiovascular Disease model. The model estimates the probability of developing cardiovascular disease over a 10-year period using several important cardiovascular risk factors.
Age
Age is an important component of the Framingham model. Cardiovascular risk generally increases as age increases, and the model uses a logarithmic transformation of age in its regression equation.
Total Cholesterol
Total cholesterol is included in the Framingham lipid-based cardiovascular risk model. Higher total cholesterol is generally associated with greater cardiovascular risk, although its effect is evaluated together with age and HDL cholesterol rather than independently.
HDL Cholesterol
HDL cholesterol is incorporated into the risk equation with a negative regression coefficient. Higher HDL values therefore generally contribute toward a lower estimated cardiovascular risk within the model.
Systolic Blood Pressure
Systolic blood pressure is another major component of the Framingham cardiovascular risk calculation. The model uses different coefficients depending on whether the person is receiving treatment for hypertension.
Blood Pressure Treatment
The calculator asks whether the individual is currently receiving medication for hypertension. This distinction is important because the Framingham regression model has separate coefficients for treated and untreated systolic blood pressure.
Smoking
Current smoking status is included as a binary risk factor. A current smoker receives an additional contribution to the model's cardiovascular risk estimate.
Diabetes
Diabetes is also included as a binary predictor in the Framingham General CVD model. Diabetes can substantially affect the calculated 10-year cardiovascular risk.
How the 10-Year Risk Is Calculated
The Framingham General CVD model uses a sex-specific regression equation. The equation combines the logarithms of age, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure with binary indicators for smoking, diabetes, and blood-pressure treatment.
The resulting linear predictor is converted into an estimated 10-year probability using a sex-specific baseline survival function. Because the coefficients differ between men and women, the same set of numerical risk factors can produce different calculated risks depending on sex.
Risk-Factor Visualization
The risk-factor visualization shows the major variables used by the model and displays their relative contribution to the model's linear predictor. This helps users understand which entered variables are contributing more strongly to the calculated estimate.
The visualization is not intended to imply that the displayed contribution represents a person's exact percentage risk attributable to one individual factor. Cardiovascular risk is calculated from the combined effect of all model variables.
Framingham Risk vs Other Cardiovascular Risk Calculators
The Framingham Heart Study has published several different cardiovascular prediction models, including models for general cardiovascular disease and models for coronary heart disease. These calculators should not be mixed because they use different outcomes, populations, predictors, and equations.
The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology also provide newer ASCVD risk tools based on the Pooled Cohort Equations. Therefore, a Framingham result should be interpreted as the estimate from the specific Framingham model used rather than as a universal cardiovascular risk percentage.
Who Should Use This Calculator?
This calculator is intended for educational and clinical decision-support purposes for adults who fit the population represented by the selected Framingham model. The original Framingham General CVD model was developed for people approximately 30–74 years old and without cardiovascular disease at baseline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Framingham Risk Score measure?
This version estimates the probability of developing cardiovascular disease within 10 years based on age, sex, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, blood-pressure treatment, smoking, and diabetes.
What is a low Framingham risk?
For this calculator's display categories, an estimated 10-year risk below 10% is labeled low.
What is an intermediate Framingham risk?
An estimated 10-year risk from 10% to below 20% is labeled intermediate in this calculator.
What is a high Framingham risk?
An estimated 10-year risk of 20% or higher is labeled high in this calculator.
Does smoking affect the Framingham score?
Yes. Current smoking status is directly included as a predictor in the Framingham General CVD model.
Does diabetes affect the Framingham score?
Yes. Diabetes is directly included as a predictor in the Framingham General CVD model.
Does taking blood pressure medication affect the score?
Yes. The model uses different systolic blood pressure coefficients depending on whether blood pressure treatment is being used.
Is the Framingham score a diagnosis?
No. A risk score is an estimate of future cardiovascular risk and is not a diagnosis. Clinical decisions should consider the complete medical history, examination, laboratory findings, family history, and current clinical guidelines.
Clinical Disclaimer
This calculator is provided for educational and informational purposes. It does not replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Cardiovascular risk estimates should be interpreted by a qualified healthcare professional and may not apply to every population or clinical situation.