What your PREVENT score means
The headline number is your 10-year PREVENT-ASCVD risk: the estimated chance of a first heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years. The 2026 ACC/AHA dyslipidemia guideline groups it into four categories.
Low
Under 3%Keep up heart-healthy habits and recheck risk factors on the schedule your clinician suggests.
Borderline
3% to under 5%The 2026 guideline says cholesterol-lowering therapy can be reasonable after a discussion that weighs risk enhancers.
Intermediate
5% to under 10%Cholesterol-lowering therapy is recommended after a clinician–patient discussion. A calcium scan can help when the decision is unclear.
High
10% or higherRisk is high enough that clinicians typically recommend treating modifiable risk factors more intensively.
The heart failure and total cardiovascular disease numbers do not have guideline treatment cut-offs of their own, but they help show the full picture — especially for people with diabetes, kidney disease, or obesity, where heart failure risk can be higher than heart attack risk.
PREVENT vs. the ASCVD risk calculator
| PREVENT (2023–24) | ASCVD / PCE (2013) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ages | 30–79 | 40–79 |
| Outcomes | ASCVD, heart failure, total CVD | ASCVD only |
| Time horizon | 10 and 30 years | 10 years |
| Uses race | No | Yes |
| Kidney function, BMI, statin use | Included | Not included |
| Guideline status | Recommended by the 2026 dyslipidemia guideline | Replaced for lipid treatment decisions |
If you already have an ASCVD score from the 10-year heart attack risk calculator, expect PREVENT to be lower for the same inputs. That does not mean your risk fell — the models are calibrated differently and use different thresholds. Our ASCVD risk score guide explains the older ranges, and the methodology page shows how that model works.
How the calculation works
PREVENT is a sex-specific logistic model. Each input is centered on a reference value (age 55, non-HDL cholesterol 3.5 mmol/L, HDL 1.3 mmol/L, systolic BP 130, BMI 25, eGFR 90), scaled, and multiplied by a published coefficient. Blood pressure, BMI, and eGFR use two-part slopes, and several factors interact with age. The weighted sum is converted to a probability.
We use the base-model coefficients from the supplemental tables of Khan et al. (Circulation, 2024). Our implementation is checked against the paper's published worked example (a 50-year-old woman with the example inputs gets a 10-year total CVD risk of 14.7%) and against the American Heart Association's online calculator.
BMI is calculated from the height and weight you enter. If you enter creatinine instead of eGFR, we estimate eGFR with the race-free 2021 CKD-EPI creatinine equation.
Who should not use this calculator
- Anyone who has had a heart attack, stroke, stent, bypass surgery, or heart failure — risk after an event is managed differently.
- People younger than 30 or older than 79, or with values outside the supported ranges.
- People with very high LDL cholesterol (190 mg/dL or more) or familial hypercholesterolemia, who usually need treatment regardless of the score.
- Anyone with symptoms right now. A long-term risk score cannot rule out a heart attack happening today — know the warning signs and call 911.
PREVENT calculator: FAQ
What is the PREVENT calculator?
PREVENT (Predicting Risk of cardiovascular disease EVENTs) is a set of risk equations published by the American Heart Association in 2023 and 2024. It estimates the chance of a heart attack or stroke (ASCVD), heart failure, and total cardiovascular disease over 10 years for adults 30 to 79, and over 30 years for adults 30 to 59. It was built from data on more than 6 million U.S. adults and adds kidney function and BMI to the traditional risk factors.
What is the difference between PREVENT and the ASCVD risk calculator?
The older ASCVD risk calculator uses the 2013 Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE). PREVENT differs in four ways: it starts at age 30 instead of 40, it does not use race, it adds eGFR (kidney function), BMI and statin use, and it estimates heart failure and 30-year risk as well. PREVENT usually gives lower numbers than PCE for the same person, largely because PCE tends to overestimate risk in today's population. The two scores use different treatment thresholds, so a 6% PREVENT result and a 6% PCE result do not mean the same thing.
What is a good PREVENT score?
Under the 2026 ACC/AHA dyslipidemia guideline, a 10-year PREVENT-ASCVD risk under 3% is low, 3% to under 5% is borderline, 5% to under 10% is intermediate, and 10% or higher is high. Lower is better, but a low 10-year number in your 30s or 40s can hide a high 30-year risk, which is why PREVENT also reports long-term risk for people under 60.
Does PREVENT decide whether I need a statin?
No calculator decides that on its own. The 2026 guideline uses the 10-year PREVENT-ASCVD estimate as a starting point: cholesterol-lowering therapy is reasonable at borderline risk and recommended at intermediate risk after a discussion with your clinician, who also weighs LDL cholesterol, family history, and other risk enhancers. Do not start or stop medication based on this page.
What if I don't know my eGFR?
eGFR comes from a routine blood test (a basic or comprehensive metabolic panel) and is usually printed on the report. If you only see serum creatinine, switch the kidney field to creatinine and the calculator will estimate eGFR with the race-free 2021 CKD-EPI equation. If you have neither, ask your clinician for recent labs rather than guessing, because kidney function changes the result noticeably.
Why doesn't this calculator include UACR, HbA1c, or zip code?
The official PREVENT equations have optional add-ons for urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, HbA1c, and a zip-code-based social deprivation index. This page implements the base model, which is the version the guideline recommends for most people and requires only routine measurements. Your clinician can use the full model if those tests are available.
Sources and editorial notes
- Khan SS, et al. Development and Validation of the American Heart Association's PREVENT Equations. Circulation. 2024;149(6):430–449.
- ACC/AHA — 2026 Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia (summary)
- American Heart Association — About the PREVENT calculator
- Inker LA, et al. New Creatinine- and Cystatin C–Based Equations to Estimate GFR without Race. NEJM. 2021;385:1737–1749.
By HeartRiskCalc Editorial Team · Published . Not independently reviewed by a clinician. PREVENT™ is a trademark of the American Heart Association; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the AHA. Educational information only.