How to Predict Heart Disease Through Hair Loss

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have determined via a medical study that male pattern baldness may be linked to increased risk for heart disease. According to the study, patients with great amounts of hair loss were suffering from conditions like angina or heart attacks; they also went through an increased number of heart-related surgeries. Researchers say that age did not come into play during the study, as they examined men with baldness of all ages. According to the study, it is possible to determine a man's risk of heart disease based upon the amount of baldness he has.

Things You'll Need

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Instructions

• 1

  Grow your hair if you normally shave it completely bald until it is at least a quarter inch in length. This will make it easier for you to determine exactly where your bald spots lie. If your hair is longer, it is not necessary to cut it as long as it can be brushed back and out of the way of the crown of your head.

• 2

  Ask friends to examine the top of your head where you will have difficulty seeing. Either ask them to take a picture of your head so you can examine and determine your risk for yourself, or trust their evaluation of your hair loss.

• 3

  Determine your class of hair loss. Match your increased risk for heart disease with the associated number below, as provided by the researchers. Note that these percentages do not mean that you have that chance of obtaining heart disease. Rather, this is your increased chance of obtaining it over a man who does not show any baldness. For example, if a 40-year-old man of average health was 2 percent likely to get heart disease, and you are also a 40-year-old man of average health with a small bald area on your crown, you are a total of 25 percent likely to get heart disease.

  No Baldness: Baseline - 0 percent increase in risk

  Starting to Lose Hair at Forehead, not crown: 9 percent increase in risk

  Small Bald Area on Crown: 23 percent increase in risk

  Hair Fully Lost on Crown: 36 percent increase in risk