What is absolute risk?

Absolute risk is your chance, as an individual, of getting cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes all heart, stroke and blood vessel diseases. It can be hard to know whether you are at risk of getting CVD, because sometimes you can't feel any symptoms.

In the past, your chance of getting CVD was measured by looking at your risk factors one at a time, for example, blood pressure or cholesterol. We now know that risk factors work together to increase or decrease your overall chance of getting CVD, and that we need to measure all of your risk factors together. The absolute risk calculator on this website does just that.

If you are 45 years or older (or 30 years and older for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) you can use the calculator on this website to find out your absolute 'heart and stroke' risk score.  Your score will tell you your chance of getting heart, stroke and blood vessel disease in the next five years. When you find out your score, you will need to ask your doctor what it means and how you can take steps to reduce your chance of getting CVD. There is also some information on this website that may help you understand your risk score. Go to the Your risk score page to find out more.