Some of the most important risk factors for stroke can be determined during a physical exam at your doctor's office. If you are over 55 years old, the worksheet below can help you estimate your risk of stroke and show the benefit of risk-factor control.

The worksheet was developed from NINDS-supported work in the well-known Framingham Study. Working with your doctor, you can develop a strategy to lower your risk to average or even below average for your age.

 

Score your stroke risk for the next 10 years-MEN

 

Key:  SBP = systolic blood pressure (score one line only, untreated or treated); ; Diabetes = history of diabetes; Cigarettes = smokes cigarettes; CVD (cardiovascular disease) = history of heart disease; AF = history of atrial fibrillation; LVH  = diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy

 

Points	0	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5	+6	+7	+8	+9	+10
Age	55-56	57-59	60-62	63-65	66-68	69-72	73-75	76-78	79-81	83-84	85
SBP-untrd	97-105	106-115	116-125	126-135	136-145	146-155	156-165	166-175	176-185	186-195	196-205
or SBP-trtd	97-105	106-112	113-117	118-123	124-129	130-135	136-142	143-150	151-161	162-176	177-205
Diabetes	No		Yes
Cigarettes	No			Yes
CVD	No				Yes
AF	No				Yes
LVH	No					Yes

 

 

Your Points	10-Year Probability
1	3%
2	3%
3	4%
4	4%
5	5%
6	5%
7	6%
8	7%
9	8%
10	10%
11	11%
12	13%
13	15%
14	17%
15	20%
16	22%
17	26%
18	29%
19	33%
20	37%
21	42%
22	47%
23	52%
24	57%
25	63%
26	68%
27	74%
28	79%
29	84%
30	88%

 

Compare with Your Age Group	Average 10-Year Probability of Stroke
55-59	5.9%
60-64	7.8%
65-69	11.0%
70-74	13.7%
75-79	18.0%
80-84	22.3%

 

Score your stroke risk for the next 10 years-WOMEN

 

Key:  SBP = systolic blood pressure (score one line only, untreated or treated); ; Diabetes = history of diabetes; Cigarettes = smokes cigarettes; CVD (cardiovascular disease) = history of heart disease; AF = history of atrial fibrillation; LVH  = diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy

 

Points	0	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5	+6	+7	+8	+9	+10
Age	55-56	57-59	60-62	63-64	65-67	68-70	71-73	74-76	77-78	79-81	82-84
SBP-untrd		95-106	107-118	119-130	131-143	144-155	156-167	168-180	181-192	193-204	205-216
or SBP-trtd		95-106	107-113	114-119	120-125	126-131	132-139	140-148	149-160	161-204	205-216
Diabetes	No			Yes
Cigarettes	No			Yes
CVD	No		Yes
AF	No						Yes
LVH	No				Yes

 

 

Your Points	10-Year Probability
1	1%
2	1%
3	2%
4	2%
5	2%
6	3%
7	4%
8	4%
9	5%
10	6%
11	8%
12	9%
13	11%
14	13%
15	16%
16	19%
17	23%
18	27%
19	32%
20	37%
21	43%
22	50%
23	57%
24	64%
25	71%
26	78%
27	84%

 

Compare with Your Age Group	Average 10-Year Probability of Stroke
55-59	3.0%
60-64	4.7%
65-69	7.2%
70-74	10.9%
75-79	15.5%
80-84	23.9%

 

Source:  D’Agostino, R.B.; Wolf, P.A.; Belanger, A.J.; & Kannel, W.B.  “Stroke Risk Profile:  The Framingham Study.”  Stroke, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 40-43, January 1994.

 

Many risk factors for stroke can be managed, some very successfully. Although risk is never zero at any age, by starting early and controlling your risk factors you can lower your risk of death or disability from stroke. With good control, the risk of stroke in most age groups can be kept below that for accidental injury or death.

Americans have shown that stroke is preventable and treatable. In recent years, a better understanding of the causes of stroke has helped Americans make lifestyle changes that have cut the stroke death rate nearly in half.