PREVENT Calculator
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The PREVENT equations estimate your chance of a heart attack, stroke or heart failure over the next 10 years and, if you are under 60, the next 30. A 50-year-old woman with diabetes, treated blood pressure (160 mmHg), total cholesterol 200 mg/dL, HDL 45 mg/dL, eGFR 90 and BMI 35 has a 10-year total cardiovascular risk of about 14.7%.
This calculator needs JavaScript. The example result beside it shows a 50-year-old woman with the numbers listed above.
For a 50-year-old woman with these numbers, the PREVENT base model estimates a 14.7% chance of a cardiovascular event over the next 10 years. The 10-year ASCVD risk (heart attack or stroke) is 9.2% and the 10-year heart failure risk is 8.1%. Those two overlap, so they can add up to more than the total. Looking 30 years ahead, the total is 53.0%.
Show the steps
- Non-HDL cholesterol = total minus HDL = 155 mg/dL, which is 4.01 mmol/L.
- Kidney function used: eGFR 90 (as entered).
- BMI used: 35.0 (as entered). It only affects the heart failure results.
- Each term is centered (for example age minus 55, divided by 10), multiplied by its coefficient and added to the model constant. For the 10-year total CVD model the sum is x = -1.760.
- Risk = 1 ÷ (1 + e^−x) = 14.7%. The other five results use their own coefficients in the same way.
The PREVENT base model
risk = 1 ÷ (1 + e^−x), where x = constant + sum of (coefficient × term)
Terms: (age − 55) ÷ 10; non-HDL − 3.5 mmol/L; (HDL − 1.3) ÷ 0.3; SBP in two pieces at 110 (each ÷ 20); BMI in two pieces at 30 (each ÷ 5); eGFR in two pieces at 60 (each ÷ −15); diabetes, smoking, BP medicine and statin as 0 or 1; and age interactions. The 30-year models add (age − 55) ÷ 10, squared.
Separate coefficients for each sex and each of the six results.
- The equations are for adults 30 to 79 with no known heart attack, stroke or heart failure. They give an average for people with the same numbers, not a forecast for one person.
- Race is not used. Family history, coronary calcium scores and other tests are not part of the base model.
- Cholesterol is converted at 1 mmol/L = 38.67 mg/dL (multiplied by 0.02586).
For education, not medical advice. This page cannot diagnose anything or tell you to start or stop a treatment. Talk to your doctor or another clinician about your own numbers.
About this calculator
PREVENT stands for Predicting Risk of cardiovascular disease EVENTs. The American Heart Association (AHA) built the equations from study and health-record data on about 3.3 million adults, then tested them on another 3.3 million. They estimate how likely an adult aged 30 to 79 with no known heart disease is to have a cardiovascular event in the next 10 years and, for ages 30 to 59, in the next 30.
This page runs the PREVENT base model in your browser. It is our own implementation of the published equations, not the AHA’s calculator, and it works best as a way to see how the numbers come together. Bring your result to a clinician rather than acting on it alone.
The three results
- Total cardiovascular disease (CVD): any heart attack, death from coronary disease, stroke or heart failure. This is the headline number.
- ASCVD (atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease): coronary heart disease, meaning a nonfatal heart attack or death from coronary disease, plus stroke.
- Heart failure: the heart cannot pump enough blood for the body’s needs. It is the only result that uses your BMI.
Each result comes from its own equation, so the ASCVD and heart failure figures can add up to more than the total. A person can have both.
How to use it
- Enter your age (30 to 79) and the sex on your medical record. The equations have separate versions for women and men.
- Enter total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol from a lipid panel. Choose mg/dL (common on U.S. lab reports) or mmol/L.
- Enter the top number of your blood pressure (systolic) and tick the box if you take blood pressure medicine.
- Enter your eGFR, or switch to creatinine and let the page work it out with the CKD-EPI 2021 equation. Our GFR calculator explains that step in detail.
- Enter your BMI, or switch to height and weight. Our BMI calculator shows how it is worked out.
- Tick diabetes, current smoking and statin use if they apply, then read the results on the right.
What the model accepts
| Input | Accepted range |
|---|---|
| Age | 30 to 79 years (whole years) |
| Total cholesterol | 130 to 320 mg/dL (3.36 to 8.28 mmol/L) |
| HDL cholesterol | 20 to 100 mg/dL (0.52 to 2.59 mmol/L) |
| Systolic blood pressure | 90 to 180 mmHg |
| eGFR | 15 to 140 mL/min/1.73 m² |
| BMI | 18.5 to 39.9 kg/m² |
These limits follow the data the model was built on and the open-source preventr package. The equations technically accept blood pressure up to 200 mmHg, but this page stops at 180 because a reading above that is considered severe high blood pressure and needs medical attention before any risk estimate. The AHA notes that people with values outside the validated ranges need individual assessment, so the page asks you to check an entry instead of guessing. The AHA also advises against using PREVENT for people with known CVD, severe hidden heart disease (for example a coronary calcium score of 300 or more), an inherited heart condition, end-stage kidney disease or a life expectancy under one year.
Reading your 10-year ASCVD number
The 2026 ACC/AHA cholesterol guideline sorts adults into four groups using the 10-year PREVENT-ASCVD estimate. The groups are meant for adults without known plaque-related heart or blood vessel disease (ASCVD) whose LDL cholesterol is 70 to 189 mg/dL:
| Group | 10-year ASCVD risk |
|---|---|
| Low | Under 3% |
| Borderline | 3% to under 5% |
| Intermediate | 5% to under 10% |
| High | 10% or higher |
Those groups are defined for the ASCVD result only, so this page does not label the total CVD or heart failure numbers. Older guidance used different cutoffs (5%, 7.5% and 20%) with the Pooled Cohort Equations, which tend to read higher for the same person, so do not mix the two scales. The 2025 blood pressure guideline uses the total CVD number instead. For adults with stage 1 high blood pressure (130 to 139 systolic or 80 to 89 diastolic) who do not already have CVD, diabetes or chronic kidney disease, a 10-year total CVD estimate of 7.5% or higher counts as increased risk, and the guideline recommends blood pressure medicine along with lifestyle changes. For stage 2 (140/90 or higher), it recommends medicine whatever the estimate.
For education, not medical advice. This page cannot diagnose anything or tell you to start, change or stop a medicine. Talk to your doctor, nurse practitioner or pharmacist about your own numbers.
What the base model leaves out
- It is meant for primary prevention. If you have had a heart attack, stroke or heart failure, or have known coronary disease, this estimate does not apply to you.
- Family history, coronary artery calcium scores, inflammation markers and pregnancy history are not inputs.
- The AHA’s optional add-ons (urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, HbA1c and a neighborhood deprivation score) are not included here.
- The result is an average for people with the same numbers. Your own risk can be higher or lower.
Sources
- Khan SS, Matsushita K, Sang Y, et al. Development and Validation of the American Heart Association’s PREVENT Equations. Circulation 2024;149:430-449.
- American Heart Association: PREVENT online calculator (professional page)
- Inker LA, et al. New creatinine- and cystatin C-based equations to estimate GFR without race (CKD-EPI 2021), via the National Kidney Foundation
- 2026 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia (PREVENT-ASCVD risk groups)
- 2025 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults
- 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (Pooled Cohort Equations risk groups)
- Mayer M. preventr: an open-source R implementation of the PREVENT equations, used to cross-check this page
Quick check: test yourself
For which ages does PREVENT give 30-year risk estimates?
The AHA gives 10-year estimates for ages 30 to 79 but 30-year estimates only for ages 30 to 59.
A person has a 10-year PREVENT-ASCVD estimate of 6%. Which group does the 2026 cholesterol guideline place them in?
Intermediate runs from 5% to under 10%. Low is under 3%, borderline is 3% to under 5%, and high is 10% or more.
Which input is used only in the heart failure equations?
BMI is a predictor only in the heart failure model. The total CVD and ASCVD equations leave it out.
Pick an answer for each question.
Common questions
What is the PREVENT calculator?
PREVENT is a set of risk equations from the American Heart Association. From your age, sex, cholesterol, blood pressure, kidney function, BMI and a few health facts, it estimates the chance of cardiovascular disease over 10 years and, for ages 30 to 59, over 30 years. It reports total cardiovascular disease, ASCVD (heart attack or stroke) and heart failure separately. It is meant for adults without known heart disease.
How is PREVENT different from the Pooled Cohort Equations?
The Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE) predict only ASCVD for ages 40 to 79 and use race as an input. PREVENT also predicts heart failure and a combined total, covers ages 30 to 79, leaves race out, adds kidney function (eGFR) and statin use, and offers 30-year estimates. It was built on newer data, and it reads lower than the PCE, which tended to overestimate risk. Because the scales differ, the PCE cutoffs of 5%, 7.5% and 20% should not be applied to a PREVENT number.
Why does the calculator stop at age 79, and why is 30-year risk only for ages 30 to 59?
The equations were built and tested in adults aged 30 to 79, so the page rejects other ages. The AHA reports 30-year estimates only for ages 30 to 59, because looking 30 years ahead from age 60 or older runs well past the ages the data cover.
What do the percentages mean?
A 10-year total CVD risk of 15% means that about 15 of 100 people with the same numbers would be expected to have a cardiovascular event within 10 years, and 85 would not. It is an average for a group, not a forecast for you. The model also accounts for the chance of dying of other causes first. Because heart failure and ASCVD are modeled separately, they can add up to more than the total.
Why does my result differ from other calculators?
Several things can shift a number. Some calculators use the older Pooled Cohort Equations, which read higher. Others add optional inputs such as HbA1c, urine albumin or a deprivation score. Small differences also come from rounding, from whether eGFR was typed in or calculated from creatinine, and from how cholesterol is converted between mg/dL and mmol/L. This page uses the base model, calculates eGFR with CKD-EPI 2021 and rounds it to a whole number like a lab report.
What should I do with my result?
Treat it as a starting point for a conversation, not a verdict. A clinician can check that the inputs are right, look at things this model leaves out, such as family history, and talk through options like blood pressure control, cholesterol treatment, quitting smoking, food and activity. If you already have heart disease, this estimate does not apply to you.
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