# What is my heart age?

Estimates your heart age, the age of someone with an ideal risk profile and the same 10-year heart disease and stroke risk, from age, sex, blood pressure, BMI, smoking and diabetes (Framingham BMI model).

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/health/heart-age-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/health/heart-age-calculator.json
- Version: ef066ecf8439

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Sex Male, Age 50, Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) 130, Blood pressure medicine No, Smoker No, Diabetes No, Height 5 ft 9 in, Weight 190 lb): Your heart age is 55 years.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| sex | Sex | Your sex, which picks the model. |
| age | Age | Your age in years; the model covers 30 to 74. |
| sbp | Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | The top number of your blood pressure reading. |
| bpmed | Blood pressure medicine | Whether you take medicine for high blood pressure. |
| smoker | Smoker | Whether you smoke now. |
| diabetes | Diabetes | Whether you have diabetes. |
| height | Height | Your height without shoes. |
| weight | Weight | Your body weight. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| heartAge | Heart age | The age of a person with the ideal profile and your predicted risk, capped at 100. |
| gap | Years above your age | Heart age − age: negative means younger than your age. |
| bmi | BMI | Weight (kg) ÷ height (m)². |

## Method

Heart age = age × exp((Σβx − Σβx_ideal) ÷ β_age), where Σβx = β_BMI ln(BMI) + β_SBP ln(SBP) + β_smoker + β_diabetes for you and for the ideal profile (SBP 120 untreated, BMI 22.5, no smoking, no diabetes); capped at 100.

## Assumptions

- Adults aged 30 to 74 without heart disease, as in the Framingham study.
- The ideal profile follows the CDC (not smoking, SBP 120 mmHg or less, BMI under 25, no diabetes); this page sets SBP at 120 untreated and BMI at 22.5, the middle of 20 to 25.
- An estimate of risk for education, not a diagnosis; it leaves out cholesterol and family history.

## Worked examples

1. sex = male, age = 50, sbp = 130, bpmed = no, smoker = no, diabetes = no, height = 1.75, weight = 80 gives heartAge = 54.474837, gap = 4.474837. Source: Framingham Heart Study, Cardiovascular Disease (10-year risk), BMI-based model coefficients (D’Agostino and others, Circulation 2008;117:743), https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/fhs-risk-functions/cardiovascular-disease-10-year-risk/ (retrieved 2026-10-05); CDC, Vital Signs: Predicted Heart Age and Racial Disparities in Heart Age Among U.S. Adults at the State Level, MMWR 2015;64(34) (non-laboratory Framingham model; ideal profile not smoking, SBP ≤ 120 mmHg, BMI < 25, no diabetes; heart age capped at 100), https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6434a6.htm (retrieved 2026-10-05).
2. sex = female, age = 55, sbp = 140, bpmed = no, smoker = no, diabetes = no, height = 1.6, weight = 71.68 gives heartAge = 67.206854, bmi = 28. Source: Framingham Heart Study, Cardiovascular Disease (10-year risk), BMI-based model coefficients (D’Agostino and others, Circulation 2008;117:743), https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/fhs-risk-functions/cardiovascular-disease-10-year-risk/ (retrieved 2026-10-05); CDC, Vital Signs: Predicted Heart Age and Racial Disparities in Heart Age Among U.S. Adults at the State Level, MMWR 2015;64(34) (non-laboratory Framingham model; ideal profile not smoking, SBP ≤ 120 mmHg, BMI < 25, no diabetes; heart age capped at 100), https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6434a6.htm (retrieved 2026-10-05).
3. sex = male, age = 70, sbp = 180, bpmed = yes, smoker = yes, diabetes = yes, height = 1.75, weight = 107.1875 gives heartAge = 100, gap = 30, bmi = 35. Source: Framingham Heart Study, Cardiovascular Disease (10-year risk), BMI-based model coefficients (D’Agostino and others, Circulation 2008;117:743), https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/fhs-risk-functions/cardiovascular-disease-10-year-risk/ (retrieved 2026-10-05); CDC, Vital Signs: Predicted Heart Age and Racial Disparities in Heart Age Among U.S. Adults at the State Level, MMWR 2015;64(34) (non-laboratory Framingham model; ideal profile not smoking, SBP ≤ 120 mmHg, BMI < 25, no diabetes; heart age capped at 100), https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6434a6.htm (retrieved 2026-10-05) (cap at 100).

## FAQ

### What is heart age?

Your heart age is the age of a person with ideal risk factors who has the same predicted 10-year risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular disease as you. If your heart age is above your real age, your risk factors add years to your heart.

### How is heart age calculated?

This page uses the BMI-based Framingham risk model (D’Agostino and others, 2008), the model the CDC used in 2015. Two people have the same predicted risk when their model sums are equal, so heart age = age × exp((your sum − the ideal sum) ÷ the age coefficient).

### What is the ideal profile?

The CDC describes it as not smoking, a systolic blood pressure of 120 mmHg or less, a BMI under 25, and no diabetes. This page uses an untreated blood pressure of 120 and a BMI of 22.5.

### What is a normal heart age?

Equal to or below your age. In 2015 the CDC found that the average US adult’s heart age was 7.8 years above their age for men and 5.4 years for women.

### How can I lower my heart age?

Stop smoking, bring blood pressure down, reach a healthier weight, and keep diabetes under control. Each change moves one term of the model toward the ideal profile. Your doctor can help with a plan and medicine where needed.

### Why does the heart age stop at 100?

The CDC capped heart age at 100 years, because very high values are far outside the ages the model was built on. The page does the same.

## Sources

- Framingham Heart Study. Cardiovascular Disease (10-year risk): BMI-based model coefficients, from D’Agostino RB Sr and others, General cardiovascular risk profile for use in primary care, Circulation 2008;117:743-753, retrieved 2026-10-05. https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/fhs-risk-functions/cardiovascular-disease-10-year-risk/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vital Signs: Predicted Heart Age and Racial Disparities in Heart Age Among U.S. Adults at the State Level. MMWR 2015;64(34), retrieved 2026-10-05. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6434a6.htm