5. Clear skin during your teen years
This next one obviously has some pretty hefty trade-offs. According to researchers at the American Journal of Epidemiology, if you had acne as a teen, your risk for heart disease actually drops 33 percent. ([10]) Not surprisingly, this is related to hormone levels—higher circulating levels of testosterone during your adolescence years triggers acne flare-ups, but amazingly, these nasty pimple popups also protect you from heart disease later in life. ([11]) Good news for pimply teens, although they will probably beg to differ, right now, anyway.
6. Thinning Hair
You see these guys all the time—thinning hair on the top or crown of their head, but not in front. It’s called “male pattern baldness.” Well, according to a Japanese study of 37,000 participants, this type of hair loss is linked to a 32 percent jump in coronary heart disease risk. ([12]) And, says Dr. Tomohide Yamada, author of the study and a respected member of the University of Tokyo’s department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, the more severe the baldness, the more serious the heart disease risk. For people in the study who had the most severe balding, the risk actually spiked to 48 percent. So, if you are among the follically challenged, it may be well worth your while talking to your doctor about your heart health and any possible lifestyle changes you can make to assure you are in tip-top shape.
7. A Wrinkled Earlobe
Finally, this one may really seem a little odd, but there is actually evidence to support it. According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, even if you don’t have any of the more traditional heart disease symptoms your doctor warns you about—you know the ones: poor cholesterol scores or diabetes—if you have a diagonal crease in either (or both) of your earlobes, it is a sign your heart may not be working properly. ([13]) Sounds a bit crazy? Well, apparently this is not the first study to link the two. This creased earlobe was actually named “Frank’s Sign” after the researcher, Sanders T. Frank, who discovered it in 1973. ([14])
According to Frank, the wrinkles or crease in the earlobe are caused by the collapse of tiny blood vessels that go to your ear lobe, which can signal changes in the blood vessels around your heart, possibly even an arterial blockage. Not so funny, now, is it? If you suspect you may have any heart issues, it is always best to be safe than sorry. Talk to your doctor to rule it out.
So, what is the “take-away” from all of this? Well, while these may seem like completely unrelated and whacky warning signs, heart disease is definitely no joke. According to more “traditional” experts, your blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels are what you should be more concerned about. ([15]) But if can say “Hey, that’s me” to more than one of these more “untraditional” signs, it might be worth talking to your doctor and having some blood work done. It certainly can’t hurt.
sources:
[[1]] https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_470704.pdf
[[2]] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987702004000
[[3]] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3251816/
[[4]] https://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/yawning-while-exercising-heres-why
[[5]] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18550130/
[[6]] https://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/gum-disease-can-cause-serious-illness
[[7]] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/treating-gum-disease-may-lessen-burden-heart-disease-diabetes-conditions-201407237293
[[8]] https://www.prevention.com/health/what-those-black-spots-when-you-stand-mean
[[9]] https://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/59/5/913.long
[[10]] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15937017
[[11]] https://www.prevention.com/beauty/hormone-balancing-foods-better-skin
[[12]] https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/4/e002537.abstract
[[13]] https://circ.ahajournals.org/content/130/1/92.full
[[14]] https://www.prevention.com/health/what-your-wrinkles-reveal-about-your-health
[[15]] https://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/measuring-triglycerides