The HeartScore program developed by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) assesses individual risk factors such as high blood pressure, cholesterol levels and smoking and the patient's gender and age to give a personal risk profile. The program incorporates data on 210,000 patients from 12 European studies and reflects the lower risk of heart disease in countries such as Spain, Italy and France. Doctors can download the program free of charge from the ESC Web site at www.escardio.org/HeartScore. The ESC comprises 47 national cardiac societies across Europe.