What does this tool measure?
Use this tool if you:
- Are older than 20.
- Do not have diabetes.
- Do not have heart disease.
If you have diabetes or heart disease, your doctor can help you find out your risk for a heart attack.
This tool is one way to find your risk of having a heart attack. This tool is a common one that doctors use. But your doctor might find your risk using a different, but similar, method. All of these methods, including this tool, are based on your risk factors for heart disease. Some methods include risk factors that are not used in this tool (such as diabetes and family history). Methods used to calculate your heart attack risk are not perfect. But they give you and your doctor a good idea about your risk. And they can help you decide if you should take steps to prevent a heart attack.
Before you use this tool, you need to know your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. You will also answer questions about important risk factors for heart disease. These risk factors are:
- Age and gender. The number of people
affected by heart disease increases with age in men after age 45 and in women
after age 55.
- Smoker. Select "Yes" if you have smoked
any cigarettes in the past month. Quitting smoking may be the most important
step you can take to reduce your risk.
- Systolic blood pressure. Systolic blood
pressure is the first number of your blood pressure reading. For example, if
your reading is 120/80 (120 over 80), your systolic blood pressure is 120.
- Blood pressure medicine. Medicines used to
treat high blood pressure include diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme
(ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), beta-blockers,
calcium channel blockers, and direct renin inhibitors. Enter "Yes" if you take
one of these medicines.
- HDL cholesterol. HDL, or high-density
lipoprotein, is the "good" cholesterol because it helps prevent cholesterol
from building up in your arteries. The higher your HDL, the better.
- Total cholesterol. Total cholesterol is
the sum of all the cholesterol in your blood. The higher your total
cholesterol, the greater your risk for heart disease.
This tool is based on
information from the Framingham Heart Study. Since 1948 the Framingham Heart
Study has studied the progression of heart disease and its risk factors. The
data from this study has been used to make a risk assessment. This risk
assessment was created by the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program
(NCEP), part of the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
What does your score mean?
Your score will appear
in values from 1% to 99%. If your score is 5%, it means that 5 out of 100
people with this level of risk will have a heart attack in the next 10 years.
If your score is 10%, it means that 10 out of 100 people with this level of
risk will have a heart attack in the next 10 years.
Your doctor uses your risk score to help decide
whether you need treatment to lower your risk for heart attack. Based on your
risk, your doctor will likely suggest that you follow a healthy lifestyle, such
as eating healthy and being active. Your doctor will also use your risk score
to decide whether you need to take medicines. Your doctor may prescribe:
What's next?
If you are concerned about your score,
talk to your doctor about lowering your risk for a heart attack. You can make
lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking or changing your diet, that can
substantially reduce your chances of heart attack. But if your risk is high,
your doctor may suggest that you start taking medicines to lower your chance of
having a heart attack.
For more information, see the topics
Coronary Artery Disease,
High Cholesterol, and
High Blood Pressure.
This information was adapted from the National Cholesterol Education
Program and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a part of the National
Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
(2004). Risk Assessment tool for estimating your 10-year risk of having a heart
attack. Available online
http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/atpiii/calculator.asp.
References
Other Works Consulted
- Greenland P, et al. (2010). 2010 ACCF/AHA guideline for assessment of cardiovascular risk in asymptomatic adults: A report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 56(25): e50–e103.
- Grundy SM, et al. (2001). Executive summary of the
third report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel
on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults
(Adult Treatment Panel III). JAMA, 285(19):
2486–2497.
- Grundy SM, et al. (2004). Implications of recent
clinical trials of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment
Panel III Guidelines. Circulation, 110(2): 227–239.
[Erratum in Circulation, 110(6): 763.]
Credits
| By | Healthwise Staff |
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| Primary Medical Reviewer | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine |
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| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Rakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC - Cardiology, Electrophysiology |
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| Last Revised | September 10, 2012 |
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