Estimate Your 10-Year ASCVD Risk
This calculator estimates your chance of a first cardiovascular event in the next 10 years using pooled cohort equations.
What is a 10-year ASCVD risk score?
ASCVD stands for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease. A 10-year ASCVD risk score estimates the probability that a person will have a first major cardiovascular event over the next decade. These events include heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death.
Clinicians commonly use this estimate to guide prevention decisions such as whether to start statin therapy, intensify blood pressure control, support smoking cessation, and focus on long-term lifestyle changes.
How this calculator works
This tool uses the pooled cohort equations from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association. The estimate is based on several clinical inputs:
- Age
- Sex
- Race (Black or White/Other coefficients)
- Total cholesterol
- HDL cholesterol
- Systolic blood pressure
- Whether blood pressure is treated
- Smoking status
- Diabetes status
Risk categories often used in practice
- Low risk: less than 5%
- Borderline risk: 5% to 7.4%
- Intermediate risk: 7.5% to 19.9%
- High risk: 20% or higher
These categories can help frame discussion with a healthcare professional, but they are not a diagnosis by themselves.
How to use your result
1) Treat the number as a starting point
A risk estimate is most useful when combined with personal and family history, LDL cholesterol level, chronic kidney disease, inflammatory conditions, and coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring when appropriate.
2) Focus on modifiable factors
The strongest long-term improvements in cardiovascular health generally come from consistent habits:
- Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke
- Prioritize blood pressure control
- Improve lipid profile through diet, activity, and medication when indicated
- Maintain healthy blood glucose and weight
- Exercise regularly (aerobic + resistance)
- Sleep well and reduce chronic stress
3) Recalculate over time
Risk is dynamic. If your blood pressure, cholesterol, or smoking status changes, your estimated risk may change too. Reassessment over time helps you and your clinician decide whether your prevention plan is working.
Important limitations
No calculator can capture every factor that affects cardiovascular risk. The pooled cohort equations were developed from large populations and may under- or over-estimate risk in some individuals. Also, this model applies to primary prevention in adults aged 40 to 79 and is not designed for people with established cardiovascular disease.
Use this calculator to support informed conversations, not to replace professional medical judgment.
Practical prevention checklist
- Know your blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL, and glucose numbers.
- If you smoke, make a quit plan with support and follow-up.
- Aim for a dietary pattern rich in vegetables, fruit, legumes, fish, and unsaturated fats.
- Get at least 150 minutes/week of moderate activity (or equivalent).
- Ask your clinician whether statins or other therapies are appropriate for your risk profile.
- Track progress every 3 to 12 months depending on your plan.