Numerous and deep wrinkles on the forehead may signal an increased risk of cardiovascular death (CVD), announced at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Munich.
The risk of heart disease increases with age, but appropriate lifestyle and medical interventions can mitigate the risk. Unfortunately, additional research is required to identify high-risk patients sufficiently early.
According to Dr. Yolande Esquirol from the Center Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (France), an easy, cheap and side-effect-free way to assess the risk of heart disease could be to assess the horizontal wrinkles on the forehead.
The study authors followed 3200 healthy adult adults (32, 42, 52, or 62 years of age at baseline) for 20 years. During that time, 223 of them died for various reasons.
According to the study, taking into account age, gender, education, smoking, blood pressure, heart rate, diabetes and lipid levels, a greater number of forehead wrinkles than typical for age may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death (CVD). . In the case of one wrinkle, it was slightly higher compared to the persons without wrinkles, in the case of 2-3 wrinkles – almost 10 times higher. The increased number of wrinkles is probably related to atherosclerosis.
Forehead wrinkles are not a symptom more characteristic than high blood pressure or cholesterol levels, but they are much easier to observe. As a similar relationship was found for the first time, further research is advisable. Nothing prevents doctors from paying attention to the patient’s forehead. They may then commission additional tests and recommend simple lifestyle changes, such as being more active or eating healthier.
Previous studies have not found a link between ‘crow’s feet’ and cardiovascular risk, but these tiny wrinkles around the eyes are a consequence not only of age but also of facial movements. There was an association between male pattern baldness, ear lobe folds, yellow tufts (cholesterol pockets under the skin) and an increased risk of heart disease, but not an increased risk of death.