By Mary Kearl
You may know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and you may even know the basic risk factors. The things you can control -- like smoking, high cholesterol and obesity -- plus the things you can't --
age, sex and genes. Here, we reveal the startling facts you probably don't know.
Surprising Facts About Heart Disease
By Mary Kearl
Got measuring tape handy?
A September 2009 British Medical Journal study of nearly 3,000 men and women ages 35 to 65 found that both men and women with a thigh circumference of less than 60 centimeters (roughly 23.6 inches) "greatly increased" the risk of developing heart disease or dying prematurely. The study takes into account other risk factors, such as smoking, physical activity, menopause (in women), percentage of body fat, height, body mass index, waist circumference, alcohol consumption, blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides. According to the Guardian, the group most at-risk were those with thighs measuring less than 46.5 centimeters(18 inches), who had nearly double the odds of heart and circulation problems or dying. Only 2.5 percent of the people studied had thigh circumferences in this range. No significant benefit came from having thighs larger than 60 centimeters. As a part of the Danish MONICA (monitoring trends in and determinants of cardiovascular disease) project, the participants' height, weight, body composition and thigh, hip and waist circumferences were taken in 1987 and 1988, with a follow-up 10 years later to measure incidence of heart disease. Then measurements were taken again 12 and a half years after the starting point to tally the number of deaths. All told, 257 men and 155 women died, with 263 men and 140 women experiencing cardiovascular disease and 103 men and 34 women suffering from heart disease, according to the Daily Mail. Keep in mind, bigger isn't always better, the American Heart Association still considers a high waist circumference -- over 40 inches in men and over 35 inches in women -- a heart disease risk factor.
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If you snack on peanuts or peanut butter at least five days a week...
Long known to be a natural heart healer, a recent Harvard Medical School study that monitored the eating habits of 2,000 women with type 2 diabetes -- which increases heart disease and stroke risk -- found that eating peanuts or peanut butter at least five days a week can nearly halve your risk of a heart attack, according to "The Daily Mail."
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If you drink three cups of tea per day…
Flavonoids, a naturally occurring substance in tea, can lower your risk of heart disease, and drinking three cups a day could lower your odds by as much as 70 percent, reports "The Daily Mail." Dr. Carrie Ruxton, a member of the Tea Advisory Panel, told "The Daily Mail," "We are not sure of the exact mechanism, but it is thought that tea flavonoids could be involved in controlling inflammation, reducing thrombosis, promoting blood vessel function and helping to limit furring up of the arteries." Ruxton and other researchers speculate that drinking at least three cups of tea per day can also reduce risk of stroke, ease stress and enhance brain functioning.
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If you have a thick neck...
Preliminary research findings from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study, presented at a recent meeting of the American Heart Association, indicate that the width of your neck may be a part of the equation in figuring out your heart disease risk, according to reports from ABCNews.com. Further studies will need to be conducted to find a more direct link between heart disease and neck size; however, a wider neck was found to be associated with other measurements for heart disease, including high blood pressure and lower "good" HDL cholesterol. Previous studies have found a connection between thicker necks and health conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
If you have this on your ear...
A transverse crease -- one that goes horizontally across your ear -- may indicate heart disease, says Nancy Snyderman, M.D., author of "Medical Myths That Can Kill You." "About eight years ago, there was a study of 108 people that found that individuals with a crease in at least one earlobe were more likely to die than people with out ear creases." This indented mark gives a clue about your body's levels of elastin -- a protein that affects blood vessel functioning. If you don't have enough elastin, it could be a sign of heart disease.
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Baldness is a risk factor
Men who are balding at the front of the head and the crown should get their hearts evaluated, says Dr. Snyderman. "It has to do with vascular supply to the hair follicles -- everything in your body needs a blood vessel. The earlier the baldness and the more bald the baldness, the higher the risk of heart disease." Compared with men who are not bald, the risk of heart disease increases by 9 percent if the balding is at the front of a man's head, by 23 percent if it is at the crown and by 36 percent if he is completely bald on the top of his head, according to a Harvard Health study cited by Dr. Snyderman.
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Snoring can indicate heart disease
"If you snore and you have sleep apnea -- when you stop breathing at night for 10 seconds or longer -- the risk of heart disease is real," says Dr. Snyderman. "We brush off snoring as no big deal, but your heart and your lungs have to work that much longer just to circulate your blood, and this takes a toll. This affects men and women equally."
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How erectile dysfunction relates to heart disease
"If a man comes to the doctor's office complaining that he can't get an erection, he really has to get his heart evaluated," says Dr. Snyderman. If you're having a hard time getting blood to the penis to achieve an orgasm, "you have to wonder if the vascular supply coming out of the heart or to the heart isn't good." Men who have erectile dysfunction are 80 percent more likely to develop heart disease than men who do not, and young men in their 40s who have erectile dysfunction are twice as likely to get heart disease, according to a Mayo Clinic study cited by Dr. Snyderman.
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Risky combinations
Having multiple risk factors can up your odds for heart disease astronomically. The combination of high blood pressure and baldness ups a man's risk by 79 percent, whereas having high cholesterol and male-patterned baldness increases his risk by 178 percent, according to a Harvard Health study cited by Dr. Snyderman.
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Jaw pain may signal a heart attack
You know the basic heart attack symptoms: pain shooting down your left arm, or a large pain under the breast bone, which Dr. Snyderman says patients describe as "having an elephant sitting on your chest." But one unusual sore spot related to heart attacks is often a complaint among women -- pain in the jaw, when heart attack pain radiates up to the jaws and teeth.
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