Earlobe Crease & Cardiovascular Disease

This blog is all about prevention of disease, so one would think that the slightest sign of an abnormality would be cause to start the process of reversing the process whatever caused the abnormality?

There is a connection between a diagonal earlobe crease (1,2) and cardiovascular disease. This believe is held amongst researches since ca. 1973. There have been approximately thirty studies done, with the largest involving 1,000 patients.

One study looked at 205 patient’s angiograms which in turn led to the conclusion that there was an 82% (eighty-two-percent) accuracy predicting heart disease based on the presence diagonal earlobe crease! (2)

The earlobe crease seems to be age independent meaning that it is significant if one is 45 or 75 years of age and that a diagonal earlobe crease surpasses all other known risk factors in the prediction of heart disease including age, smoking, high cholesterol and others. This correlation does not hold true if you are Asian, Native American, and for children with Beckwith’s syndrome.

What’s the science behind these predictions?

We’ll the earlobe has lots of veins, and a decrease in blood flow over a period of time may result in the caving in of the vascular bed causing the diagonal earlobe crease. And of course decreased blood flow to anywhere in the body is associated with cardiovascular disease.

Don’t panic if there is a diagonal earlobe crease present on your earlobe. There is an incidence of 12% (twelve-percent) with an earlobe crease present, but no signs of cardiovascular disease. An 18% (eighteen-percent) incidence with no earlobe present, but evidence of heart disease.

This is just a small sign which one would think, warrants further investigation and possible dietary or lifestyle changes.

Beste Gesundheit,

Werner

Ps.Your comments are always, welcome.

(1) W.J. Elliott. Earlobe Crease and Coronary Artery Disease. Am J Med 75. (1983): 1024-32
(2) W.J. Elliott and L.H. Powell. Diagonal Earlobe Creases and Prognosis in Patients with Suspected Coronary Artery Disease. Am J Med 100. (1996): 205-11