Indication of Heart Disease? Some believe the eyes may be the windows to the soul but for a team of Danish doctors the eyes are a window providing a glimpse of future cardiovascular disaster. The general premise of this new Danish research suggests that men and women who develop visible deposits of cholesterol in the skin around their eyelids appear to face a higher risk of heart disease overall, and suffering a heart attack in particular. The correlation between the skin condition and heart disease, however, is characterized as an association, rather than a clear-cut case of “cause and effect.” Nevertheless, the research team led by Dr. Tybjaerg-Hanson, hailing from the department of clinical biochemistry at Copenhagen University in Denmark, said that this finding could help doctors recognize heart attack risk in patients and determine the appropriate course of action earlier rather than later. Additionally, this visual cue could prove to be particularly valuable in societies who don’t have access to lipid profile testing, wait times to schedule an exam are months or even years, or the costs involved are prohibitive. Additionally, individuals who have raised yellow patches around the eyes indicating a collection of cholesterol in the skin (xanthelasmata) are not always recognized as being at risk due to unpredictability of blood tests for those with xanthelasmata. Nonetheless, xanthelasmata and another condition called “arus corneae” (identified by white or gray rings surrounding the cornea) have been proven to indicate deposits of cholesterol. This study whose goal was to determine how cholesterol deposits around the eyes might affect heart disease consisted of nearly 13,000 patients ages 20 to 93 and spanned an incredible 33 years. The study proper was labeled the Copenhagen City Heart Study. When the study began none of the participants had heart disease, 520 had xanthelasmata, and 3250 patients had arcus corneae. Ultimately, more than 1,870 participants had a heart attack, and nearly 3,800 developed heart disease during the study. Roughly, 1500 had a stroke and 1,815 developed cardiovascular disease. At the study’s conclusion 8,500 out of the 13,000 participants had died. That equates to just slightly over 65 percent. By that point, the study team found that having xanthelasmata was independently associated with increased risk for heart attack and developing heart disease. It was also linked to a greater likelihood of dying within a ten-year period. Surprisingly, the findings were consistent regardless of gender, history, smoking, obesity, and blood pressure levels. The age group with the highest risk was men between the ages of 70 and 79. Note: The research failed to link heart disease or heart attack risk to arcus corneae. In conclusion, one study only sets the table for future research. Nevertheless, this study should make those who have noticed cholesterol deposits around the eyes realize that they could be at increased risk of heart attack and encourage them to take preventative action before it is too late. |
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