The Need for Accurate CVD Risk Prediction. The American College of Cardiology. The Framingham CVD risk score and ATP-III coronary heart disease risk score. Coronary age as a risk factor in the modified Framingham risk score. Enrique F SchistermanEmail author and; Brian W Whitcomb. BMC Medical Imaging20044:1. © Schisterman and Whitcomb; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Received: 31 July 2003. Risk score calculation. This Framingham risk score calculator estimates the 10-year coronary heart disease risk of any person based on certain criteria like gender, age, cholesterol and.

There's a heart-healthy path into the sunlight. In 1948, the National Heart Institute -- now the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) -- began the Framingham Heart Study. The study gathered health information from 5,209 volunteers in Framingham, Mass., to identify risk factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease and, hopefully, find ways to reverse its increasing prevalence. The study continues to gather data not only from the original group, but from two others as well -- the children and the grandchildren of the first volunteers. One product of this mountain of information was the Framingham heart attack risk calculator. Plug in a few pieces of information, and voila! You find out how likely you are to face a heart attack in the next 10 years.

Using the Framingham Risk Calculator The NHLBI calculator requires seven pieces of information: your age, gender, total cholesterol level, level, systolic blood pressure (the larger, 'top' number of a blood pressure reading) and whether you currently smoke or take medication for high blood pressure. Cholesterol • Below 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL): Optimal • 100-129: Near optimal/above optimal • 130-159: Borderline high • 160-189: High • Over 190: Very high Total Cholesterol • Below 200 mg/dL: Desirable • 200-239: Borderline high • Over 240: High (High is bad) HDL Cholesterol • Below 40 mg/dL: Low (low is bad, it is a major risk factor for disease) • Over 60: High (Higher is better) For a more complete analysis, go to the online. Emerson Lake And Palmer Trilogy Raritan.

Questions About the Framingham Risk Calculator One potential problem with the Framingham Heart Study and the calculator: The original study participants were overwhelmingly white. Since race and ethnicity factor in to heart disease risk, though, that could be a problem. The NHLBI website argues that the risk factors identified through the Framingham Heart Study 'have been shown in other studies to apply almost universally among racial and ethnic groups.' Nonetheless, there are stubborn racial differences in heart disease. For instance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health observes that 'African-American men are 30% more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic white males.' Yet African Americans actually have a lower rate of heart disease than whites (10% vs.