Arterial Age Calculator
Enter 9 cardiovascular risk factors and see your arterial age (heart age / vascular age): the age at which someone with an optimal risk profile would carry your same 10-year ASCVD risk. Computed with the 2013 ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort Equations — 100% in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
⚕️ Medical disclaimer — please read
This is an educational tool only. It estimates 10-year ASCVD risk with a simplified implementation of the 2013 ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort Equations and re-expresses it as "arterial age". It is not a diagnosis, not medical advice, and not a substitute for professional evaluation. Statin use, family history, and ethnicities beyond White/Black are not modelled. Always discuss your cardiovascular risk with a qualified doctor.
Your risk factors
– years
your estimated arterial age · chronological age –
–
| Estimated 10-year ASCVD risk | – |
| Same-age person, optimal profile | – |
| Method | 2013 ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort Equations |
What moves your number
Estimated arterial age if only that factor were at its optimal level — informational, not medical advice.
Example cases
Load a preset into the calculator to see how the inputs move the result.
Healthy 50-year-old man
Non-smoker, cholesterol 170/50, BP 110, no diabetes.
Expected: arterial age ≈ 50
Non-smoker, cholesterol 170/50, BP 110, no diabetes.
Expected: arterial age ≈ 50
55, smoker with diabetes
Cholesterol 280/35, BP 160 on medication, smoker, diabetes.
Expected: arterial age ≈ 95
Cholesterol 280/35, BP 160 on medication, smoker, diabetes.
Expected: arterial age ≈ 95
45-year-old woman, high cholesterol
Cholesterol 240/45, BP 140, no smoking or diabetes.
Expected: arterial age ≈ 59
Cholesterol 240/45, BP 140, no smoking or diabetes.
Expected: arterial age ≈ 59
How it works
Step 1 — 10-year hard ASCVD risk (heart attack, coronary death, or stroke) is estimated with the 2013 ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort Equations (Goff et al., J Am Coll Cardiol 2013):
risk = 1 − S10exp(individual sum − mean sum)
using published sex- and race-specific coefficients on ln(age), ln(total cholesterol), ln(HDL), ln(systolic BP, treated or untreated), smoking, and diabetes, including the published age-interaction terms.
risk = 1 − S10exp(individual sum − mean sum)
using published sex- and race-specific coefficients on ln(age), ln(total cholesterol), ln(HDL), ln(systolic BP, treated or untreated), smoking, and diabetes, including the published age-interaction terms.
Step 2 — arterial age is the age A at which a person of the same sex and race with an optimal profile (non-smoker, total cholesterol 170 mg/dL, HDL 50 mg/dL, systolic BP 110 mmHg without medication, no diabetes) would have that same 10-year risk — found by binary search over ages 30–100.
Honest limitations of this simplified implementation
- Race: only White and Black coefficient sets were ever published; other ethnicities use the White equation (the ACC/AHA estimator's own convention).
- Statins: lipid-lowering therapy is not modelled — the derivation cohorts did not retain it as a variable.
- Age range: validated for ages 40–79. Inputs 30–39 are accepted but extrapolated, and arterial ages outside 40–79 are flagged.
- Not measured plaque: this re-expresses predicted risk as an age; it does not image your arteries (see the calcium-score FAQ).
- Population math: the equations can overestimate absolute risk in contemporary cohorts. It is an educational estimate — never a diagnosis.
Verification: the four worked examples published in the guideline's own coefficient table (55-year-olds at 2.1%, 3.0%, 5.3%, 6.1% risk) are reproduced exactly by this page's engine, and an optimal 50-year-old of any group gets an arterial age of 50.0. Test vectors ship with this tool.
Frequently asked questions
What is arterial age?
Arterial age (often called heart age or vascular age) re-expresses your 10-year cardiovascular risk as an age: the chronological age at which a person of your sex and race with an optimal risk profile — non-smoker, total cholesterol 170 mg/dL, HDL 50 mg/dL, systolic BP 110 mmHg without medication, no diabetes — would have the same 10-year risk as you. If your arterial age is higher than your actual age, your risk-factor burden is typical of an older person.
How is arterial age calculated here?
First, 10-year risk of hard ASCVD (heart attack, coronary death, stroke) is estimated with the 2013 ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort Equations from 9 inputs: age, sex, race, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, BP-medication use, diabetes, and smoking. Then a binary search finds the age at which the optimal risk profile yields that same risk. The equations were validated for ages 40 to 79.
Arterial age vs coronary calcium score — what's the difference?
They measure different things. A coronary artery calcium (CAC) score from a CT scan measures actual calcified plaque; the MESA study's arterial-age calculator maps your CAC percentile to the age at which that score is typical. This tool estimates risk from risk factors alone — no scan needed — so it reflects predicted risk, not measured plaque. The two are complementary, and a calcium score is generally the stronger individual predictor: discuss it with your doctor.
Is arterial age a diagnosis?
No. It is an educational re-expression of a population-derived risk estimate, not a diagnosis and not a measurement of your actual arteries. The underlying equations are known to overestimate risk in some contemporary populations, and statin use, family history, and ethnicity beyond White or Black are not modelled. Always discuss cardiovascular risk with a qualified doctor.
Why does it ask for race?
The Pooled Cohort Equations were derived separately for four sex–race groups (White and Black men and women) because baseline risk differs. Only those groups were validated; following the ACC/AHA risk estimator's own convention, other ethnicities use the White equations. This is a limitation of the underlying science, not a statement about any individual.
Can I use it on statins, or under age 40?
You can, but interpret cautiously. Lipid-lowering therapy was not retained as a variable when the equations were derived, so statin users' risk may be overestimated — tell your doctor you take a statin. The equations were validated for ages 40–79; results for younger ages are extrapolations and are labelled as such in the results.
Can arterial age go down?
Arterial age is computed from your current risk factors, so anything that lowers the estimated 10-year risk — quitting smoking, or lower blood pressure or cholesterol — lowers the estimated arterial age. The "what moves your number" breakdown shows which of your inputs moves it most. This tool cannot prescribe treatment; lifestyle and medication decisions belong in a conversation with your doctor.
Scope boundary
This tool estimates arterial age from cardiovascular risk factors. It is not a mean arterial pressure (MAP) calculator — MAP is a single blood-pressure reading metric — and not an arterial blood gas / blood pH tool, which belongs to acid–base medicine. Different physiology, different tools.
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