Earlobe Creases and Heart Disease

People know that having high cholesterol and blood pressure can lead to heart disease, but according to one doctor's studies, physical traits, such as the creases in an earlobe, can be a factor.

The Study

• According to an article written by Dr. W. Gifford Jones of Canadafreepress.com, Dr. William Elliott, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, studied 1,000 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and another 6,000 regular patients to check the correlation between creases in earlobes and heart disease.

Type of Crease

• Elliott studied the crease that "starts where the earlobe attaches to the head" and "angles diagonally backward toward the lower edge of the ear."

Findings

• Canadafreepress.com says that Dr. Elliott found 74 percent of the patients had the diagonal earlobe crease. In the 6,000 regular-patient study, 60 percent of the patients had heart disease, according to Canadafreepress.com.

Critics

• Not all medical experts agree with Elliott's findings. According to the University of Alabama at Birmingham's website, more studies need to be conducted on the topic. The website also says Elliott's findings are nearly two decades old.

Considerations

• Doctors do agree a proper diet, regular exercise and getting checkups are the best ways to prevent heart disease, according to the Canadafreepress.com article and www.health.uab.edu.