How do I calculate my 10-year cardiovascular risk?

Enter five things: your sex, age, whether you have diabetes, whether you smoke, and your systolic blood pressure (the top number of a reading). The calculator matches you to a cell on the WHO/ISH SEAR-B chart and returns a colour-coded 10-year risk band — from green (under 10%) to deep red (40% or more). No blood test or cholesterol figure is needed.

What is the WHO/ISH risk chart used in Sri Lanka?

It is a risk-prediction chart the World Health Organization and International Society of Hypertension published in 2007. Sri Lanka sits in the SEAR-B sub-region, so the SEAR-B chart applies. The Ministry of Health's NCD Unit uses this exact chart to stratify risk in its free Healthy Lifestyle Centres under the WHO PEN protocol.

Can I check my heart attack risk without a blood test?

Yes. This tool uses the non-laboratory version of the WHO/ISH SEAR-B chart, which does not need a cholesterol result. It relies only on age, sex, smoking status, known diabetes and blood pressure — all of which you can get from a free pharmacy or clinic BP check. A laboratory version that adds cholesterol exists but is not required here.

What is a healthy blood pressure to avoid heart disease?

A systolic reading below 120 mmHg is considered ideal, and below 140 mmHg keeps you in the lowest chart band. From 140 mmHg upward, each 20-point step (140–159, 160–179, 180+) moves you into a higher-risk column. High blood pressure often has no symptoms, so periodic checks matter even if you feel well.

What CVD risk score means I need medication?

This screen does not prescribe medication. Under the WHO PEN guidance Sri Lanka follows, a 10-year risk of 20% or more (orange, red or deep red) usually prompts a doctor to consider blood-pressure-lowering and other treatment alongside lifestyle change. The decision is always made by a clinician after a full assessment — use your band as a reason to book that visit.

Why does the chart not ask for my cholesterol?

This is the WHO/ISH non-laboratory chart, designed for settings where a cholesterol test may not be available or affordable. It trades a little precision for accessibility — you can screen yourself from a single blood-pressure reading. If you know your cholesterol and want a laboratory-based estimate, ask your doctor to use the laboratory SEAR-B chart.

Is my age below 40 or above 79 covered?

The WHO chart is validated for ages 40 to 79. For ages 30 to 39 the tool uses the 40-year band and flags that measured risk under 40 is usually below 10%. It will not estimate outside 30–79, because the chart was not built or tested there and extrapolating would be misleading.

Does this tool store my health information?

No. Everything runs in your browser. Your age, blood pressure, smoking and diabetes answers are never sent to a server, saved, or shared. Close the tab and nothing remains.

How accurate is a risk chart compared with a blood test?

Risk charts are screening tools, not diagnoses. A 2021 Sri Lankan cohort study validated the WHO/ISH approach for local use, but any chart classifies people into broad bands rather than exact percentages. Treat your band as a prompt for action and conversation with a clinician, not a precise prediction.

Sri Lanka · Health

Cardiovascular Risk Calculator for Sri Lanka (WHO/ISH)

Estimate your 10-year risk of a heart attack or stroke in seconds — no blood test. This uses the WHO/ISH SEAR-B chart that Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health Healthy Lifestyle Centres use under the PEN protocol. Private, free, and sources cited below.

By Induwara Ashinsana— Executive Director, Ryzera TechnologiesUpdated Jul 3, 2026

Check your 10-year risk

WHO/ISH SEAR-B · no blood test

Sex

Age (years)

yrs

Whole years, 30–79.

Systolic blood pressure

mmHg

The top (higher) number of a BP reading.

Do you have diabetes?

A known diagnosis of diabetes (type 1 or 2).

Are you a current smoker?

Currently smoking, or quit less than 1 year ago.

Try an example

10-year heart attack & stroke risk

< 10%

Low risk — about fewer than 10 in 100 people like you will have a fatal or non-fatal heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years.

Low 10-year risk. Keep up a healthy lifestyle — no tobacco, less salt, more vegetables and fruit, regular activity and a healthy weight.

Recheck your risk in about 12 months.

Chart cell used: Male · no diabetes · non-smoker · age 50–59 · SBP under 140 mmHg

Your chart panel

Male · no diabetes · non-smoker

Age

120140160180

Systolic BP (mmHg)

< 10%10 to < 20%20 to < 30%30 to < 40%≥ 40%

This is a screening estimate, not a diagnosis. It does not replace a doctor, and a low result does not rule out heart disease. If you feel unwell or have symptoms such as chest pain or breathlessness, seek medical care.

Chart: WHO/ISH 2007 SEAR-B (non-laboratory), used by Sri Lanka MoH Healthy Lifestyle Centres.

How it works

This calculator is a deterministic look-up on the World Health Organization / International Society of Hypertension (WHO/ISH) cardiovascular risk prediction chart, published in 2007. Sri Lanka belongs to the WHO epidemiological sub-region SEAR-B (which also covers Indonesia and Thailand), so the SEAR-B chart applies. We implement the non-laboratoryversion — the “no blood test” chart that Sri Lanka's NCD Unit uses in its free Healthy Lifestyle Centres. There is no arithmetic and no interpolation: your answer is whatever colour the chart cell states.

Pick the panel.Three yes/no keys — sex, diabetes, and smoking — select one of eight chart panels (for example, “Male · diabetes · smoker”).
Map your age to a decade band. The chart has rows for 40, 50, 60 and 70. Ages 40–49 use the 40 band, 50–59 the 50 band, 60–69 the 60 band, and 70–79 the 70 band. Ages 30–39 use the 40 band with a note that real risk under 40 is usually below 10%.
Map your systolic blood pressure to a column. Under 140 mmHg uses the 120 column, 140–159 the 140 column, 160–179 the 160 column, and 180 mmHg or higher the 180 column.
Read the colour cell. The cell at your age row and blood-pressure column inside the selected panel is your 10-year total cardiovascular risk band: green (under 10%), yellow (10 to under 20%), orange (20 to under 30%), red (30 to under 40%) or deep red (40% or more).
Get the next step.Each band carries a plain-language “X in 100” figure and a follow-up action drawn from the WHO PEN risk-stratification guidance Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health adopts — a recheck interval and, for higher bands, a prompt to see a doctor.

Every one of the 128 grid cells was transcribed cell-for-cell from the WHO 2007 SEAR-B chart via the peer-reviewed whoishRisk digitisation (F1000Research, 2016) and then checked in code: the grid is complete and monotonic— risk never falls when a single factor (older age, higher blood pressure, smoking, diabetes) worsens. WHO released updated charts in 2019, but Sri Lanka's PEN/HLC field practice references the 2007 SEAR-B chart, so that is the grid implemented here.

Worked examples

Low-risk younger woman

Female · age 40 · no diabetes · non-smoker · SBP 118

Panel: Female · no diabetes · non-smoker
Age 40 → 40 band (bottom row)
SBP 118 → under-140 → 120 column (left)
Cell = bottom-left corner → green
Result: < 10% — low risk, recheck in ~12 months

High-risk older man

Male · age 70 · diabetes · current smoker · SBP 185

Panel: Male · diabetes · smoker (highest-risk panel)
Age 70 → 70 band (top row)
SBP 185 → ≥ 180 → 180 column (right)
Cell = top-right corner → deep red
Result: ≥ 40% — very high risk, see a doctor promptly

Boundary case: BP exactly 160

Male · age 60 · no diabetes · smoker · SBP 160

Panel: Male · no diabetes · smoker
Age 60 → 60 band
SBP exactly 160 → falls in the 160–179 → 160 column
Cell (age 60 × SBP 160) → yellow
Result: 10 to < 20% — moderate risk, review within 3–6 months

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

The SEAR-B grid on this page was transcribed from the WHO 2007 chart and last cross-checked on 2026-07-03. It is reviewed whenever the WHO/ISH charts or Sri Lanka's PEN/HLC risk-stratification guidance are updated.

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