If you’ve ever wanted insight into your heart disease risk, you can now figure it out using a simple online test developed by scientists. The calculator assesses for socio-demographic factors such as ethnicity, sense of belonging, education, health status, and lifestyle behaviors. This is what makes this calculator far more effective at assessing heart disease risk compared to other measurements of risk. It considers greater factors that can influence heart disease risk, which other tests may overlook.
To develop the calculator, researchers looked at routinely collected data from 104,219 Ontario residents from the Canadian Community Health Surveys. Replies to the survey were used to develop the calculator, known as the Cardiovascular Disease Population Risk Tool (CVDPoRT).
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The calculator can successfully assess a person’s cardiovascular disease risk within the next five years. For example, a person with a CVD risk of five percent means that five in 100 people like them are likely to experience a serious cardiovascular-related event within the next five years.
The calculator is also able to reveal heart age, which is another easy-to-understand factor related to heart disease risk.
Senior scientist Doug Manuel explained, “A lot of people are interested in healthy living, but often we don’t have that discussion in the doctor’s office. Doctors will check your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, but they don’t necessarily ask about lifestyle factors that could put you at risk of a heart attack and stroke.”
It’s important to factor in lifestyle habits along with environment when determining a person’s heart disease risk because these factors are known to play a role in a person’s heart health, and this is what makes this new calculator that much more effective in assessing heart disease risk.
To learn about your own heart disease risk, you can complete the online calculator here
Also read:
- Heart attack symptoms in women: Risk Factors when at 40, 50, 60
- 10 foods to help prevent clogged arteries naturally
Emily Lunardo studied medical sociology at York University with a strong focus on the social determinants of health and mental illness. She is a registered Zumba instructor, as well as a Canfit Pro trainer, who teaches fitness classes on a weekly basis. Emily practices healthy habits in her own life as well as helps others with their own personal health goals. Emily joined Bel Marra Health as a health writer in 2013.
