Heart age is an estimate of the age of your cardiovascular system based on your risk factors for heart disease and stroke. If your heart age is higher than your real age, your heart is under greater strain and your risk of heart attack or stroke is elevated compared to someone your age with no risk factors. The concept was developed by NHS England to help people understand their cardiovascular risk in a more relatable way than abstract percentage scores.

Heart age is derived from cardiovascular risk factors including your chronological age, biological sex, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol to HDL ratio, smoking status, presence of diabetes (type 1 or 2), family history of premature heart disease, atrial fibrillation, BMI, and medication use. The UK NHS uses the QRISK3 algorithm to calculate 10-year cardiovascular risk, from which heart age can be estimated. This calculator uses a simplified model based on the same principles.

A healthy heart age is equal to or lower than your chronological age. If you are 50 years old and your heart age is 47, your cardiovascular system is in good shape. If your heart age is significantly higher — for example 62 when you are 50 — that represents a 12-year deficit suggesting elevated cardiovascular risk. Your GP can help you interpret the result in the context of your full medical history.

Key factors that increase heart age include: high systolic blood pressure (above 130 mmHg), high total cholesterol to HDL ratio (above 4), current or recent smoking, type 1 or type 2 diabetes, obesity (BMI above 30), physical inactivity, family history of premature heart disease before age 60, and atrial fibrillation. Each factor independently raises cardiovascular risk — having several at once can add decades to your heart age.

You can reduce your heart age through: stopping smoking (the single most impactful change — can reduce heart age by up to 15 years), lowering blood pressure through a reduced-salt diet, regular exercise, and medication if needed, reducing your cholesterol through diet and statins if prescribed, losing weight if overweight or obese, being physically active for at least 150 minutes per week at moderate intensity, reducing alcohol consumption, and managing diabetes effectively through diet and medication. Even modest improvements across multiple factors can reduce heart age by several years.

In the UK, a normal systolic blood pressure (the top number) is below 130 mmHg. High blood pressure (hypertension) is defined as a consistent reading of 140/90 mmHg or above. Stage 2 hypertension is 160/100 mmHg or above, requiring medication in most cases. Blood pressure naturally rises with age, which is why monitoring and managing it through lifestyle and medication becomes increasingly important from middle age onwards.

The total cholesterol to HDL ratio is a more useful predictor of cardiovascular risk than total cholesterol alone. In the UK, a healthy ratio is generally below 4.0 and an ideal ratio is below 3.5. A ratio above 6.0 is considered high risk. HDL (high-density lipoprotein) is the protective cholesterol, so raising HDL through exercise and diet while reducing LDL through diet and statins improves your ratio and reduces risk.

This calculator is inspired by NHS QRISK3 principles and provides an educational estimate of heart age. It is not a certified medical device and does not use the full QRISK3 algorithm, which requires additional clinical and ethnicity data collected during a medical consultation. For an official NHS heart age assessment, speak to your GP or use the NHS Health Check programme if you are aged 40–74 in England. This tool is for educational and informational purposes only.