How the Number Is Built
Your 10-year coronary risk is estimated from age, sex, cholesterol, HDL, systolic blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes, the Framingham risk factor set behind most modern scores.
That risk is then matched to the age at which a person with optimal risk factors has the same risk. If your risk matches the average 60-year-old with ideal factors, your heart age reads 60.
Why the Gap Matters
A single risk number like '14% over 10 years' is abstract; 'your heart is 9 years older than you' isn't. Health campaigns in the UK and elsewhere use heart age precisely because it changes behavior better than percentages.
The gap is also reversible: stopping smoking, lowering blood pressure, and improving lipids shrink heart age measurably within a year.
How to Close the Gap
Order the levers by power: quit smoking first, then systolic blood pressure under 130, then LDL control. Each improvement cuts risk faster than any supplement.
Recheck every 6–12 months. Watching the gap close is one of the most motivating feedback loops in preventive medicine.
Sources
FAQ
What is a good heart age?
At or below your real age. Any gap above zero is elevated risk; a gap over 8–10 years warrants a clinician conversation.
How is heart age calculated?
Your 10-year cardiovascular risk is computed from standard risk factors and matched to the age where an ideal-risk person has the same risk.
Can heart age be lowered?
Yes, quitting smoking, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, and regular exercise can take years off heart age within months.
Please read this first: these results are educational estimates, not medical advice. For decisions about your health, talk to a qualified professional.