Richmond, Virginia
High blood pressure is quiet until the day it isn't.
It has no symptoms you can feel. For a lot of people in Richmond, the first sign is the ambulance. Five minutes now tells you where you stand.
Free, anonymous, no sign-up. A screening tool, not a diagnosis.
What happens
No clipboard, no waiting room, no bill.
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Answer thirteen questions
Plain language, about your health and your family. Skip anything you would rather not answer.
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See where you stand
A clear result and what it means, written to be read once and understood.
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Get somewhere to go next
Enter a ZIP code and we list free and low-cost clinics near you, with phone numbers that work.
The whole thing
Thirteen questions, then somewhere to go.
No account, no email, no insurance card. The result and the clinic list arrive on the same screen.
Five minutes. Nothing to sign.
You will not be asked for a name, an email, or insurance. Nothing you enter leaves your phone.
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in America.
This takes five minutes and costs nothing.
Chest pain, trouble breathing, or numbness on one side right now? Do not use this tool. Call 911. This page can wait, that cannot.
Private by design
- No sign-up
- Nothing stored, ever
- Reviewed with medical guidance
About
Who we are, and what this tool is.
Our mission
The Open Heart Initiative is a student-founded organization bringing free heart health screenings, education, and care navigation to underserved communities in Richmond, VA.
High blood pressure is called "the silent killer": it has no symptoms, and many people are living with it without knowing. We meet people where they already are, in barbershops, churches, and community spaces, check their numbers for free, and help connect anyone at risk to affordable care.
The four pillars
Four pillars, and where each one honestly stands.
01Prevention
The risk tool, plus free blood pressure screenings at barbershops and churches around the city.
Live 02Education
Plain-language heart health reading, in English and Spanish.
Live 03Access
The referral path to real care, built with clinical partners in Richmond.
In progress 04Recovery
Follow-up and support for people already managing a heart condition.
ComingWho is behind it
What the risk tool is based on
The tool asks thirteen questions about age, family history, blood pressure, cholesterol, tobacco use, diabetes, activity, diet, weight, current symptoms, and when you last saw a doctor. It adds those into a score out of 25 and sorts that score into lower, moderate, or higher risk. All of that math runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, and nothing is stored.
Honest scope
The Open Heart Initiative is an early-stage, community-focused effort. Our screening tool is educational and does not replace a medical professional.
A free educational screening tool, not a diagnosis.
Pillar one · Prevention
Find out early, while it is still easy to fix.
Most people with high blood pressure feel completely fine, so the only way to know is to check. We do that two ways: free in-person screenings around Richmond, and the risk check on this page.
Free screenings in the neighborhood
We bring blood pressure checks to the places people already go: barbershops, churches, and community spaces, at the same spot every month. We also loan home blood pressure cuffs to people who need to track their numbers between visits.
What happens at a screening
What the tool collects
What we can say today: your answers are scored in your own browser and are never sent to us or to anyone else. The one exception is your ZIP code, and only if you choose to enter it. It goes to our clinic-lookup service to find nearby health centers, and it is not stored after that. You can skip the ZIP step and still see your full results.
Pillar two · Education
Heart health in plain words.
No jargon, no lectures. Short reads on what your numbers mean, what actually helps, and when it is time to see someone. We are adding to this library as we go, in English and Spanish.
Reading library
A free educational screening tool, not a diagnosis.
Pillar three · Access
Here’s where to go next.
Knowing your risk only matters if you can do something about it. These are places that will see you whether or not you have insurance, and charge based on what you can afford, often nothing at all.
Search by ZIP code
Community health centers are federally funded to serve everyone. Enter your ZIP and we will show the closest ones.
Please enter a 5-digit ZIP code.
Browse the full national directoryOur referral partners
Places we know, and send people to by name.
Help paying for medication
If it is an emergency
Chest pain, pressure or tightness, sudden shortness of breath, or a blood pressure reading of 180/120 or higher: do not wait on a website. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. ERs must treat you in an emergency, insured or not.
Pillar four · Recovery
Nobody should manage this alone.
A diagnosis or a heart event is the start of something, not the end of it. This pillar is the one we are still building, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
What this will cover
- Understanding your medications, and what to do about side effects
- Warning signs worth acting on, and which ones can wait
- Getting connected to cardiac rehab
- Free re-checks, so your progress is tracked over time
Ongoing support resources
Checking in
We want to know whether people we refer actually reach care, because that is the only real measure of whether any of this is working. A simple check-in is on the way.
Get involved
This works because people show up.
Volunteers, clinical partners, community spaces willing to host a screening, and anyone with a question: we would like to hear from you.
Ways to help
Volunteer
Help run screenings, hand out materials, or translate resources into Spanish.
Partner with us
Clinics, churches, barbershops, and community organizations who want to host or take referrals.
Ask a question
About the screenings, the risk tool, or anything else on this site.
Contact
A free educational screening tool, not a diagnosis.