Welcome to the Framingham Heart Study

The Framingham study was designed to track health information on men and women between the ages of 30 and 62 who did not have signs of heart disease. Every two years, each would be given a detailed medical exam. Researchers would record the information from the exam and collect other data on each person's lifestyle and habits.

Over the years, researchers would see who got heart disease and who did not. Years of data on each group could be statistically analyzed and compared. Researchers originally recruited 5,209 residents, and some are still participating 50 years later. In 1970, the "Offspring Study" was kicked off with 5,124 new recruits, children of the original study group and their spouses.

Amy Walker, a subject in one of many studies spun off from the original Framingham study, has her oxygen consumption and heart function tested, while her mother, grandfather, and great grandfather walk on treadmills. Her great-grandfather was part of the original study group, and her grandfather was a member of the Offspring Study.

Risk factors: a unique study yields a new concept

Based on results from Framingham, scientists developed the concept of "risk factors," aspects of health and lifestyle that increase the chance of getting a particular disease. Identifying the risk factors for cardiovascular disease made it possible to develop new approaches to preventing it—some as inexpensive and simple as improving diet, exercising more, and quitting smoking.

This 1961 paper reports "factors of risk" in the development of heart disease that were among early conclusions from the study: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and electrocardiogram abnormalities. "Risk factor" is now a commonly used term.

The study's findings: results and more results

Researchers have published more than 1,000 scientific papers based on Framingham data. Numerous other studies were launched to answer questions raised by Framingham. Here are some highlights of the many findings.

• Cigarette smoking increases the risk of heart disease.
• Switching to filtered cigarettes does not measurably reduce heart disease risk.
• Some heart attacks are "silent," or cause no pain.
• The ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is a good predictor of risk.
• High LDL cholesterol leads to heart disease.
• High HDL cholesterol helps prevent heart disease.
• Obesity and inactivity increase the risk of heart disease.