What on earth is a diagonal ear crease you might be saying, and why should I care?
It is a diagonal crease across your earlobe at a 45 degree downward angle toward your shoulder. The reason you should care is it may be an early warning sign of a potentially fatal heart attack.
The presence of a diagonal earlobe crease has been recognized as a sign of cardiovascular disease since 1973. Several studies have determined a high predictivity between the presence of the fold and cardiovascular disease.
There appears to be an alarming link between ear creases and unexpected death. There have been several cases in studies where people suddenly die from heart attacks, but had no history of heart disease. Among these individuals, there seems to be the common element of a diagonal earlobe crease. In another study, angiograms performed on 205 consecutive patients shows an 82% accuracy in predicting heart disease based on the earlobe crease. Some studies conclude that earlobe creases can be a greater predictor of sudden death from heart attack than known risk factors, such as previous heart disease.
When you understand the reason behind the creation of the crease, the connection between cardiovascular disease and the earlobe crease makes sense. The earlobe is richly supplied with blood, and a decrease in flow over an extended period of time is believed to result in collapse of the vascular bed, leading to a diagonal crease.
It is possible that some doctors may be missing severe heart disease cases among some middle aged and elderly people. If that’s the case, help yourself by checking your ears for diagonal creases. The presence of a diagonal earlobe crease doesn’t prove that cardiovascular disease exists, it strongly suggests it. If there is a crease, then you should tell your doctor about the crease. It’s important to take responsibility for your health, and maybe the crease will be a wakeup call regarding the situation of your cardiovascular system. A good start would be to eliminate risk factors such as smoking, hypertension and obesity.
**Note: The correlation does not hold true for Asians, Native Americans and children with a rare condition known as Beckwith’s syndrome.
