The Framingham Heart Disease Epidemiology Study is a landmark study of the factors that contribute to the development of heart disease. Beginning in 1948, the study has been following the same group of 5,209 adult volunteers from Framingham, Massachusetts. By keeping track of which people develop heart-related diseases, and which do not, vital information related to diet and lifestyle was revealed for the first time. This study is largely responsible for why Americans have become so conscious of the amount of fat in their food and the need for regular exercise.

The study is and has been run by what is now known as the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), as well as local universities, physicians and scientists. Before the study, it was widely believed that heart disease was an inevitable result of genetics and aging. Scientists believed it was natural for blood pressure to rise with age as the heart was forced to pump blood through narrowing arteries. The study’s findings were among the first to establish a connection between lifestyle choices and a person’s heart disease risk level. In fact, the term risk factor was coined by Framingham researchers as a direct result of their findings. The Framingham study was instrumental in our modern understanding of how cholesterol levels, smoking, obesity and diabetes contribute to heart disease.

Using data from the Framingham study, researchers were able to create the widely used coronary risk profile worksheet. This simple worksheet uses a few inputs, such as cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes status, and smoking status, to calculate a person's 10-year risk of suffering from some form of heart disease, including angina, heart attack or coronary artery disease. The algorithms used to create this worksheet were developed by looking the population of the study itself. One drawback to this approach is that the Framingham population is almost exclusively white, meaning that these risk calculations might not fit other populations as well. Nevertheless, the Framingham coronary risk profile can provide important information to both patients and physicians.