GOT EAR CREASES? YOU MAY BE A WALKING TIME BOMB
Do you know that an unassuming crease on your earlobe could indicate a serious health issue? A doctor living in a rural area of Maharashtra has drawn a link between the diagonal earlobe crease (DELC) or Frank’s sign and a predisposition to coronary heart disease.
According to The Times of India, Dr. Himmatrao Bawaskar, who has a practice in Mahad, studied patients suffering from diabetes and hypertension to conclude that 508 of the 888 studied were suffering from ischemic heart disease. But instead of subjecting them to the standard battery of tests, the doctor took a closer look at his patients.
The doctor, whose work in snake and scorpion bites have earned international praise, believes the “ear crease” could serve as a surrogate marker for doctors in resource-crunch settings. “In India, the majority of chest pain victims first go to family physicians. At times, sudden death is the first and last manifestation of IHD,” he said.
In case you think the ear-crease theory is new, you are widely mistaken. It, in fact, goes back to days before CT, angiograms and high-sensitivity blood enzyme tests, say doctors. Dr Altaf Patel, former professor from JJ Hospital’s Grant Medical College in Byculla, reportedly said: “The earlobe connection to heart disease seems like a common sense thing. A majority of people with an ear crease are in their late 50s or 60s. Most of them will have high blood pressure and heart disease.” According to him, the fat tissues curve up forming a crease in people who grow older and develop blood pressure.
Large population has shown an association of the Frank’s sign with an increased risk of ischaemic heart disease and myocardial infarctions. It could also be an independent risk factor that may predict the severity of many coronary artery diseases.
Dr Bawaskar’s study, which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, has found a connection between heart disease and height as well.
“The height of most Caucasians is 180 cm or more, they have bigger blood vessels and hence have lower incidence of heart disease,” he said. But Indians are shorter and have thinner blood vessels. “In this study, we noted that men with mean height of 166.4 cm and women with mean height of 151.1 cm are more prone to coronary artery disease if they have an ear crease,” he added.
Dr Bawaskar is very clear that such surrogate markers could help the rural patients.
Not everyone is convinced, though.
The professor and head of cardiology department at J J Hospital, Dr N O Bansal, dismisses the theory. “The correlation has lost its value in modern medicine. People can have the ear crease without heart disease. Moreover, there are diagnostic labs or small hospitals even in remote parts of the country offering ECG to detect heart problems,” he said.
Ketto & Healthcare
Since its inception, Ketto has been a strong advocate of disease prevention programs, affordable healthcare, and strong health education in India. Click on the links below to view crowdfunding projects it has been involved with for disease treatment and medical management efforts. If you feel inspired, you can perhaps start your own project with Ketto as well.
Ketto Blog remains committed to inspiring and compelling social change to India’s most pressing problems through the power of great stories and engaging our audiences to take meaningful action.
