A quick heart health check can tell you more than you might think. Our free Heart Health Score, a simple heart health test, looks at eight everyday factors, from what you eat and how much you walk to your sleep, weight, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure, and turns them into one simple score out of 100. This heart health check takes about three minutes, works on your phone, and shows you exactly which two areas to work on first.
This tool is a simplified, unofficial version inspired by the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 framework. It is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with the AHA. We adapted the questions for Pakistani and South Asian life, so you will see daal, roti, chai, naswar and ghee paratha in the questions, not just American examples.
What is a heart health check and why does it matter?
A heart health check is a look at the habits and numbers that shape your long-term cardiovascular health. Most heart attacks and strokes do not come out of nowhere. They build up over years from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, smoking, inactivity, poor sleep and extra weight, often with no symptoms at all.
The good news is that almost all of these factors can be measured and improved. According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, and most of the risk comes from things we can change, such as diet, tobacco use, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol use. A regular heart health check of your habits helps you catch problems early, while they are still easy to fix.
Why heart disease hits South Asians earlier
Heart disease in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh tends to strike younger than in many other parts of the world. In the large international INTERHEART study, published in JAMA in 2007 (Joshi et al.), people from South Asian countries had their first heart attack at an average age of about 53 years, compared with about 59 years in people from other countries. Researchers found that this was mainly because South Asians had higher levels of risk factors at a younger age, not because of some unknown cause.
Several things add up for people of South Asian background:
- Belly fat at a lower weight. South Asians tend to store fat around the waist and organs, and develop diabetes and heart risk at a lower BMI than Europeans.
- Diabetes and prediabetes are very common. Pakistan has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world, and high blood sugar damages blood vessels over time.
- Cholesterol patterns. Many South Asians have low HDL ("good") cholesterol and high triglycerides, which raises non-HDL cholesterol.
- Diet. Generous ghee and banaspati, fried snacks, white rice and maida, sweet chai and mithai, and lots of salt in achaar and salan.
- Tobacco in many forms. Cigarettes, shisha, naswar, paan with tobacco and gutka are all widely used.
- Less exercise as cities grow. Desk jobs, long commutes, hot summers and few safe places to walk all reduce daily activity.
This is why a heart health check matters in your 30s and 40s, not just after 60. If you have a parent or sibling who had a heart attack young, start even earlier.
How to use this calculator
Your heart health check follows the same eight areas as Life's Essential 8. Have your latest lab reports handy if you have them, but you can still finish without them.
- Answer the 8 diet questions. Tick yes or no for each habit (fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein choice, nuts, sweets, fried food and cooking oil/salt). Be honest about a typical week.
- Enter your physical activity. Add up your minutes of moderate activity per week (brisk walking, cycling, housework that makes you breathe harder). Vigorous minutes (running, football, fast swimming) count double.
- Choose your nicotine status. Never used, quit 5+ years ago, quit 1–5 years ago, quit less than a year ago, or current user. Tick the box if someone smokes inside your home.
- Enter your average sleep. Hours of actual sleep per night, not time in bed.
- Enter your height and weight. In cm and kg, or ft/in and lb. The tool works out your BMI.
- Add your blood pressure (optional). Enter your top and bottom numbers, or choose "don't know". Tick if you take BP medicine.
- Add your cholesterol (optional). Enter total cholesterol and HDL (or your non-HDL number) from your lipid profile in mg/dL, or choose "don't know". Tick if you take cholesterol medicine.
- Add your blood sugar status (optional). Choose no diabetes with normal fasting sugar, prediabetes, or diabetes with your latest HbA1c, or "don't know".
- Read your result. You get an overall score, a bar for each metric, and your 2 weakest areas to work on.
Each metric is scored from 0 to 100, and your overall score is the average of the metrics you answered. If you skip a lab value, that metric is left out and the tool reminds you to get it checked.
Understanding your heart health score
Once you finish the heart health check, your overall score falls into one of three bands.
| Overall score | Cardiovascular health | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 80–100 | High | Your habits and numbers are in great shape. Keep them there and recheck yearly. |
| 50–79 | Moderate | Some good habits, some gaps. Focus on your two weakest areas first. |
| 0–49 | Low | Several areas need attention. See a doctor for a full check-up and lab tests, and start with one change at a time. |
Don't worry if your first heart health check score is lower than you hoped. Every metric can improve, and even a 10-point rise in one area lifts your overall score.
The 8 metrics of your heart health check, explained
Below you will find how each metric is scored, exactly as the tool calculates it, plus practical tips that fit a Pakistani kitchen and daily routine.
1. Diet: a heart-healthy diet, desi style
The tool asks eight yes/no questions about your usual eating habits:
- At least 2 servings of fruit daily
- At least 3 servings of vegetables daily
- Whole grains like whole-wheat atta, brown rice or oats most days
- Mainly fish, chicken, daal or beans instead of red or processed meat
- Nuts or seeds a few times a week
- Sugary drinks, sweet chai or mithai less than once a day
- Fried foods (samosa, pakora, ghee paratha) less than twice a week
- Cooking with liquid vegetable oils instead of ghee or banaspati, and limiting salt
| Number of "yes" answers | Diet score |
|---|---|
| 8 | 100 |
| 6–7 | 80 |
| 4–5 | 50 |
| 2–3 | 25 |
| 0–1 | 0 |
Desi tips: Switch to chakki atta for roti and keep white rice for a few meals a week. Add a plate of salad or a sabzi to every lunch and dinner. Make daal and chana your everyday protein, and keep mutton and beef for occasions. Swap the evening samosa for roasted chana, a fruit, or a handful of unsalted peanuts. Cut the sugar in your chai gradually, half a spoon at a time. Use less salt in salan and go easy on achaar, papad and namkeen. The WHO healthy diet guidance recommends less than 5 g of salt a day, about one level teaspoon. If you want to plan portions, our Calorie & Protein Calculator shows how much to eat for your goal.
2. Physical activity for heart health
Enter your weekly minutes of activity. Vigorous minutes count double, so 30 minutes of jogging counts as 60.
| Minutes per week | Activity score |
|---|---|
| 150 or more | 100 |
| 120–149 | 90 |
| 90–119 | 80 |
| 60–89 | 60 |
| 30–59 | 40 |
| 1–29 | 20 |
| 0 | 0 |
Activity is one of the fastest ways to lift your heart health check result.
Desi tips: 150 minutes is just 30 minutes, five days a week, in line with the WHO physical activity guidelines. A brisk walk after Fajr or after dinner, when the heat drops, counts fully. In summer, walk in a mall, on a rooftop, or at home on the stairs. Take the stairs at the office, walk to the nearby masjid or market instead of taking the bike, and stand up every hour if you have a desk job. Two short strength sessions a week (push-ups, squats, resistance bands) add extra benefit.
3. Nicotine: smoking and heart disease
For this heart health check, nicotine includes cigarettes, shisha, vapes and naswar.
| Nicotine status | Score |
|---|---|
| Never used | 100 |
| Quit 5 or more years ago | 75 |
| Quit 1–5 years ago | 50 |
| Quit less than 1 year ago | 25 |
| Current user | 0 |
Exposure to second-hand smoke at home subtracts 20 points (the score never goes below 0).
Desi tips: Nicotine narrows blood vessels, raises heart rate and blood pressure, and makes blood more likely to clot. One shisha session can deliver as much smoke as many cigarettes, and naswar is not a safe swap. Quitting is the single biggest change most smokers can make for their heart, and the benefit starts within weeks. Talk to your doctor about nicotine replacement or other support, set a quit date, and ask family members not to smoke indoors, especially around children and elders.
4. Sleep and heart health
Enter your average hours of sleep per night.
| Average sleep per night | Sleep score |
|---|---|
| 7 to under 9 hours | 100 |
| 9 to under 10 hours | 90 |
| 6 to under 7 hours | 70 |
| 5 to under 6 hours, or 10+ hours | 40 |
| 4 to under 5 hours | 20 |
| Under 4 hours | 0 |
Desi tips: Late dinners, late-night chai and phone scrolling push sleep later and later. Try to eat dinner 2–3 hours before bed, keep the last cup of tea or coffee before Asr, and put your phone away 30 minutes before sleeping. During load-shedding or hot nights, a fan, light cotton bedding and a cool shower help. A short afternoon qailoola nap is fine, but keep it under 30 minutes. Loud snoring with gasping or daytime sleepiness can be a sign of sleep apnoea, which strains the heart, so mention it to your doctor.
5. BMI and body weight
The heart health check calculates BMI from your height and weight.
| BMI | BMI score |
|---|---|
| Under 25 | 100 |
| 25–29.9 | 70 |
| 30–34.9 | 30 |
| 35–39.9 | 15 |
| 40 or more | 0 |
These bands follow the standard (non-Asian) cut-offs used in Life's Essential 8. For South Asians, heart and diabetes risk start rising at a lower BMI, around 23, so a score of 100 here doesn't mean your weight is ideal. Check your number with the South Asian cut-offs in our BMI Calculator, and measure your waist with the Ideal Weight & Waist-to-Height Calculator. A simple rule is to keep your waist under half your height.
Desi tips: Small, steady changes beat crash diets. Reduce portions of rice and roti by a quarter, skip the second paratha, drink water or lassi without sugar instead of soft drinks, and be mindful of wedding and dawat food. Losing even 5% of your body weight can improve blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol.
6. Cholesterol levels: non-HDL cholesterol
Non-HDL cholesterol is your total cholesterol minus your HDL ("good") cholesterol. It is the cholesterol number used in this heart health check because it captures all the cholesterol that can clog arteries, and it doesn't need a fasting sample. Both numbers are on a standard lipid profile report in mg/dL.
| Non-HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | Cholesterol score |
|---|---|
| Under 130 | 100 |
| 130–159 | 60 |
| 160–189 | 40 |
| 190–219 | 20 |
| 220 or more | 0 |
If you take cholesterol medicine, 20 points are subtracted. This doesn't mean the medicine is bad. It reflects that your body needs help to keep cholesterol in range. Never stop or change a prescribed medicine on your own.
Example: total cholesterol 210 mg/dL and HDL 38 mg/dL gives a non-HDL of 172 mg/dL, which scores 40.
Desi tips: Replace ghee and banaspati with liquid oils such as canola, sunflower, corn or olive oil, and use less of it overall. Choose oats, daal, chana, beans and vegetables, which are rich in fibre. Limit fried snacks, bakery items, nihari fat and organ meats. Regular exercise helps raise HDL.
7. Blood sugar
Choose your status from your latest fasting glucose or HbA1c test. If you don't know it, the heart health check skips this metric and reminds you to get tested.
| Blood sugar status | Score |
|---|---|
| No diabetes, fasting under 100 mg/dL (HbA1c under 5.7%) | 100 |
| Prediabetes: fasting 100–125 mg/dL or HbA1c 5.7–6.4% | 60 |
| Diabetes with HbA1c under 7% | 40 |
| Diabetes with HbA1c 7–7.9% | 30 |
| Diabetes with HbA1c 8–8.9% | 20 |
| Diabetes with HbA1c 9–9.9% | 10 |
| Diabetes with HbA1c 10% or more | 0 |
Desi tips: Diabetes roughly doubles the risk of heart disease, and many Pakistanis have it without knowing. If you have never been tested, take our Diabetes Risk Test first. Cut back on sugary chai, sharbat, mithai and white bread, pair carbs with protein and vegetables, and walk for 10–15 minutes after meals. If you already have diabetes, keep your follow-up visits and work with your doctor on your HbA1c target.
8. Blood pressure and heart health
Blood pressure is one of the most important numbers in any heart health check. Enter your top (systolic) and bottom (diastolic) numbers.
| Blood pressure (mmHg) | BP score |
|---|---|
| Under 120/80 | 100 |
| 120–129 and under 80 | 75 |
| 130–139 or 80–89 | 50 |
| 140–159 or 90–99 | 25 |
| 160 or more, or 100 or more | 0 |
If you take BP medicine, 20 points are subtracted. High blood pressure is often called the silent killer because it usually has no symptoms, yet it is a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease.
Desi tips: Use a validated automatic upper-arm monitor at home. Sit quietly for 5 minutes, feet flat, arm at heart level, and take 2–3 readings on different days. Cut salt, achaar and packaged snacks, eat more fruit and vegetables, stay active and manage stress. For a detailed reading of what your numbers mean, use our Blood Pressure Checker.
Which lab tests should you get, and how often?
Three of the eight metrics in a heart health check need a simple blood test or a BP reading. A complete heart health check needs real numbers, not guesses. Most labs in Pakistan offer these at a reasonable price, and many do home sample collection.
| Test | What it shows | How often (healthy adults) |
|---|---|---|
| Lipid profile | Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides (use total and HDL for non-HDL) | Every 4–6 years from age 20; every 1–2 years from 40, or yearly if high, diabetic or with family history |
| Fasting blood sugar or HbA1c | Whether your sugar is normal, prediabetic or diabetic | Every 3 years from age 35 (earlier if overweight or family history); yearly if prediabetic |
| Blood pressure | Your systolic and diastolic pressure | At least once a year; more often if 120/80 or higher |
Your doctor may advise more frequent testing based on your history. For fasting glucose, don't eat or drink anything except water for 8–10 hours before the test. A lipid profile can often be done without fasting, but check with your lab.
Heart attack warning signs: call 1122 immediately
A heart health check is about long-term health. It cannot tell you whether you are having a heart attack or stroke right now. If you or someone near you has any of the signs below, call 1122 (Rescue) or 115 (Edhi) in Pakistan, or your local emergency number abroad, straight away. Don't wait to see if it passes and don't drive yourself.
Heart attack warning signs:
- Chest pain, pressure, squeezing or heaviness lasting more than a few minutes, or coming and going
- Pain spreading to the arm, shoulder, neck, jaw or back
- Shortness of breath, with or without chest pain
- Cold sweat, nausea, vomiting or light-headedness
- Women, older adults and people with diabetes may have milder or unusual symptoms such as tiredness, indigestion-like discomfort or breathlessness
Stroke warning signs: remember FAST
- F – Face: one side of the face drooping when they try to smile
- A – Arms: weakness or numbness in one arm; they can't lift both arms and keep them up
- S – Speech: slurred, confused or strange speech
- T – Time: time to call 1122 immediately; every minute counts
Sudden severe headache, loss of vision or balance, or confusion are also emergencies.
What this heart health check can and can't do
This heart health check measures your current cardiovascular health habits and numbers. It is not a 10-year heart disease risk calculator, and it doesn't consider age, sex, family history or ethnicity the way clinical risk tools do. A doctor may use a formal risk calculator alongside your test results to decide whether you need treatment.
- If you already have heart disease, have had a heart attack, stroke, stent or bypass, or have heart failure, follow your cardiologist's advice rather than this score.
- If you are pregnant, under 18 or have a serious illness, your targets may be different.
- If you take medicines for BP, diabetes, cholesterol or blood thinning, do not change them based on this tool.
Turning your score into a plan
After your heart health check, look at the two weakest areas the tool highlights. Pick one small, specific change for each, such as "walk 20 minutes after dinner five days a week" or "one spoon less sugar in chai". Stick with it for a month, then repeat your heart health check and see your score move.
A general wellness routine also includes regular meals, enough water in the heat, good sleep and time with family. Some people add natural products such as pure shilajit resin to their daily routine. Supplements are not a treatment for heart disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes, and they can't replace healthy habits or medicine. If you take any medication or have a heart condition, read our shilajit precautions guide and check with your doctor first.
Done with your heart health check and want to look at other areas of your health? Browse all our free health calculators in one place.
Disclaimer
This Heart Health Score is a simplified, unofficial educational tool inspired by the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the AHA, and it is not a diagnosis, a 10-year risk prediction or a substitute for medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your results, lab tests and any symptoms. In an emergency, call 1122.
