Signs of ageing linked to heart problems

Receding hairlines, earlobe creases, puffy eyes – all these signs of physical ageing are also associated with risk of heart attack, a new study has found.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen found that the presence of visible signs of ageing, such as baldness at the crown of the head, grey hair, wrinkles and fatty deposits around the eyelids, indicated an increased risk of heart attack and heart disease.

The Danish researchers found that people were 39 per cent more likely to have heart disease and 57 per cent more likely to have a heart attack, if they had at least three of these four signs: receding hairline, baldness at the crown, a crease in the earlobe and or fatty deposits on the eyelids.

They used data from the Copenhagen Heart Stud, which included nearly 11,000 people who were aged 40 and above.

Researchers examined six signs of ageing, and found that the more signs of ageing a participant had the greater their chances were of developing heart problems.

But they found that gray hair and wrinkles weren’t linked with increased risk of heart problems.

The study examined 5828 men and 5057 women and found that hair loss in women wasn’t linked with increased risk of heart disease. In comparison, out of 737 men who had a receding hairline, 82 suffered a heart attack, revealing that there is a 40 per cent high risk in men with hair loss.

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