Framingham Risk Calculator — 10-Year CVD Risk Score
The Framingham Risk Score uses age, sex, total and HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, blood pressure treatment status, and smoking to estimate the 10-year risk of a cardiovascular event. This calculator applies the 2001 NCEP ATP III point-score tables (Wilson et al. 1998 / Expert Panel, 2001).
Biological sex
years
mg/dL
mg/dL
mmHg
On blood pressure treatment
Current smoker
Low (<10%)
- 1
Age points
6 - 2
Total cholesterol points
3 - 3
HDL cholesterol points
0 - 4
Systolic BP points
0 - 5
Smoking points
0 - 6
Total Framingham points
6 + 3 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 9Point total maps to 10-year CVD risk % via sex-specific tables.
How does this calculator work?
The Framingham Point Score assigns sex- and age-stratified points to total cholesterol, HDL, systolic BP, smoking, and age, then maps the total to a 10-year CVD risk %. Low <10%, intermediate 10–19%, high ≥20%. Based on 2001 NCEP ATP III tables; values editable as the score uses standard population averages.
Formula
How this is calculated
The Framingham Heart Study is a long-running cohort study begun in 1948 that established most of the risk factors we associate with cardiovascular disease today. The ATP III risk score (2001) turns those factors into a point total using sex-specific and age-stratified tables: older age, higher total cholesterol, lower HDL cholesterol, higher systolic blood pressure (especially when on antihypertensive treatment), and current smoking each add points; high HDL subtracts a point. The point total maps to an estimated 10-year probability of a first major cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction or coronary heart disease death).
Cholesterol and smoking points are age-stratified because their relative contribution to risk changes with age — a smoker in their 30s carries a much higher attributable risk than a smoker in their 70s. Blood pressure points are doubled if the person is currently on antihypertensive treatment (treated hypertension is still a risk factor). Values are in mg/dL; multiply mmol/L by 38.67 for total cholesterol or 38.67 for HDL.
The resulting risk categories (<10% = low, 10–19% = intermediate, ≥20% = high) guide ATP III treatment thresholds. This calculator uses the 2001 tables exactly as published. Note that newer guidelines (AHA/ACC 2013 Pooled Cohort Equations) extend to additional outcomes, include Black race as a separate model, and may give different estimates. The Framingham score is validated in predominantly White populations from the north-eastern United States and may overestimate or underestimate risk in other groups.
Frequently asked questions
It estimates the probability that a person without known cardiovascular disease will have a first major coronary event (heart attack or coronary death) within 10 years. Clinicians use it to decide when to start statin therapy or other preventive treatment: high risk (≥20%) generally warrants aggressive intervention; intermediate risk (10–19%) is a grey zone where additional testing (coronary calcium score, hsCRP) may help stratify.
Blood pressure treatment does not eliminate the elevated cardiovascular risk — it reduces but does not fully normalise it. The ATP III tables recognise this by assigning more points for a given blood pressure level when the patient is already on antihypertensives, reflecting the residual risk that persists despite medication.
The score is well-calibrated for White Americans in the 40–79 age range, the main population in the original Framingham study. It tends to overestimate risk in low-risk populations (some European cohorts) and underestimate it in certain high-risk groups. The ACC/AHA 2013 Pooled Cohort Equations were developed to address some of these limitations by including additional race and sex cohorts.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Framingham Risk Calculator — 10-Year CVD Risk Score [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/framingham-risk-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Framingham Risk Calculator — 10-Year CVD Risk Score." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/framingham-risk-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Framingham Risk Calculator — 10-Year CVD Risk Score," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/framingham-risk-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_framingham_risk_calculator, title = {Framingham Risk Calculator — 10-Year CVD Risk Score}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/framingham-risk-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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