This risk assessment tool was created by the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) using information based on research from the Framingham Heart Study. The Framingham Study was established in 1948 and has been researching the causes and effects of Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVD) for three generations. The study is responsible for identifying many major CVD risk factors and has provided important information on risk factors such as blood pressure, blood triglyceride and cholesterol levels, age, gender, and psychosocial issues.

The tool calculates your risk of heart attack, based on smoking alone, using the values you enter for yourself (your gender and age), as well as a systolic blood pressure of 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), an HDL cholesterol measurement of 55 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), and a total cholesterol measurement of 200 mg/dL.

While this tool is a great way to discover how smoking by itself can increase your risk of having a heart attack, smoking can also have negative effects on CVD risk factors like cholesterol and blood pressure. So if you smoke, be sure to see a doctor and check for other risk factors for heart disease, your risk may be higher than this tool indicates.

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