The Framingham Scoring Method is a way to determine your chance of having a heart attack in the next ten years. It requires answers to five questions. It does not take into account two other risk factors for having a heart attack: family history of heart disease or personal history of diabetes.

This test was not designed to be used by people that have known heart disease (atherosclerosis of arteries of your heart or previous heart attacks). To complete the calculation, you need to know the following:

• your total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol (high density lipoprotein), and
• your systolic blood pressure (the upper of the two numbers that make up your blood pressure).

Add the point total of the five questions, and below you can determine your percent chance of having a heart attack in the next 10 years. Here is a list of factors that put you at higher risk of a heart attack.

• Age > 45 for men or > 55 for women
• Cigarette smoking
• Cholesterol of LDL > 130 or HDL < 40
• Diabetes
• Father or Brother with heart disease before age 55, or Mother or Sister before age 65
• Obesity (men with waist circumference > 40 inches or women > 35 inches, or a weight significantly higher than your ideal body weight listed in the following table)

How to determine your total points: