Health Tools

Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.

	Interactive tools are designed to help people determine health risks, ideal weight, target heart rate, and more.
	Smoking and Risk of Heart Attack

What does your score mean?

Your score will appear in values from 1% to 99%. If your score is Nonsmoker: 2% and Smoker: 6%, it means that for your age and gender 2 out of 100 nonsmokers compared with 6 out of 100 smokers will have a heart attack in the next 10 years. In this example, smokers are 3 times more likely than nonsmokers to have a heart attack in the next 10 years.

What's next?

If you are concerned about your score, talk to your doctor about lowering your risk for a heart attack. Quitting smoking may be the most important step you can take to reduce your risk of heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, the risk of coronary artery disease decreases by 50% in the first year after quitting. To learn more, see the topic Quitting Smoking.

This information was adapted from the National Cholesterol Education Program and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a part of the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2004). Risk Assessment tool for estimating your 10-year risk of having a heart attack. Available online: http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/atpiii/calculator.asp.