The Reynolds Risk Score was developed and validated using data from 24,558 initially healthy American women who were followed over a ten-year period for the development of heart attack, stroke, angioplasty (balloon surgery to open an artery), coronary artery bypass surgery, or death related to heart disease. Full details of the Reynolds Risk Score are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association,(Ridker PM, Buring JE, Rifai N, Cook NR. Development and validation of improved algorithms for the assessment of global cardiovascular risk in women: The Reynolds Risk Score. JAMA 2007;297:611-619). Funding for this project was provided by a research grant from the Donald W Reynolds Foundation and by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. The Reynolds Risk Score for men was similarly developed using data from 10,724 initially healthy non-diabetic American men who were followed over a ten-year period for the development of heart attack, stroke, angioplasty, bypass surgery, or death related to heart disease. Full details of the Reynolds Risk Score for men are published in Circulation (Ridker PM, Paynter NP, Rifai N, Gaziano JM, Cook NR. C-reactive protein and parental history improve global cardiovascular risk prediction: The Reynolds Risk Score for Men. Circulation 2008 (in press)).
Calculating Heart Attack and Stroke Risk for Women and Men
If you are healthy and without diabetes, the Reynolds Risk Score is designed to predict your risk of having a future heart attack, stroke, or other major heart disease in the next 10 years.
In addition to your age, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and whether you currently smoke, the Reynolds Risk Score uses information from two other risk factors, a blood test called hsCRP (a measure of inflammation) and whether or not either of your parents had a heart attack before they reached age 60 (a measure of genetic risk). To calculate your risk, fill in the information below with your most recent values.
How to enter values for calculator
How to enter total cholesterol: The American Heart Association recommends that total cholesterol values should be the average of at least two measurements obtained from a standard blood test. Total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and hsCRP can be measured on the same blood sample. Total cholesterol should be reported to you in mg/dL. The typical range for most individuals is between 100 and 400 mg/dL, with higher levels associated with higher risk. For most individuals, an optimal level of total cholesterol is less than 160 mg/dL.
How to enter HDL or "good" cholesterol: The American Heart Association recommends that HDL or "good" cholesterol values should be the average of at least two measurements obtained from a standard blood test. Total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and hsCRP can be measured on the same blood sample. HDL cholesterol should be reported to you in mg/dL. The typical range for most individuals is between 10 and 100 mg/dL, with higher levels associated with lower risk. For most individuals, an optimal level of HDL cholesterol is greater than 60 mg/dL.
How to enter systolic blood pressure: The systolic blood pressure value to be used in the Reynolds Risk Score is the upper number from your most recent blood pressure evaluation, regardless of whether you are on blood pressure medications. For example, if your blood pressure is 120/80, then your systolic blood pressure to be used in the Reynolds Risk Score is 120. Systolic blood pressure should be reported in mm/Hg. The typical range for most individuals is between 90 to 190 mm/Hg. For most individuals, an optimal systolic blood pressure is less than 120 mm/Hg.
How to enter hsCRP: The American Heart Association recommends that high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) values should be the lower of at least two values obtained from a standard blood test. This is particularly important if the initial hsCRP value is > 5 mg/L. Total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and hsCRP can be measured on the same blood sample. The typical range for hsCRP is between 0.01 and 10 mg/L, with higher levels associated with higher risk. Some individuals will have very high hsCRP levels on a chronic basis, even after repeat testing. These individuals represent a high risk group so the Reynolds Risk Score will accept hsCRP values up to 50 mg/L. For most individuals, an optimal level of hsCRP is less than 0.5 mg/L.
How to enter smoking status: The Reynolds Risk Score considers a woman/man who has smoked any cigarettes in the last month as a "current smoker".
How to enter parental history of heart disease before age 60: If either your mother or father suffered from a heart attack or stroke before age 60 years, the Reynolds Risk Score considers parental history to be positive.
