A new study in the European Heart Journal suggests that short people are at a significantly increased risk for heart disease. While some previous studies have demonstrated a link between short stature and cardiovascular disease, this is the first systematic review on this subject. In the study 3,012,747 people were classified by sex and height. Short men were considered 5-foot-5 and under, short women were under 5-feet tall. Tall men were over 5-foot-9, and tall women were over 5-foot-5. Compared with the tallest people, those of the shortest stature were almost 1.5 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease or to live with heart disease or suffer a heart attack, the researchers found. It’s theorized that shorter people have smaller coronary arteries which can get blocked sooner in life. As well, there may be genetic factors involved. In the mean time we can all reduce our risk of heart disease, regardless of our height, by controlling modifiable risk factors such as smoking, exercise and diet. [via Yahoo! News]

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Tags: cardiac, coronary artery disease, Genetics, heart disease, height, short stature

Posted by Steven / June 9, 2010 10:34 pm / Permalink / Comments (3) / Trackbacks (0)