Do you have one thick ear lobe? Or two?
If you only have one thick ear lobe:
Thick ear lobes (if only one side is thick) can be caused by infection. Is the ear lobe red or warm to the touch or tender? If so, see your health care provider. Allergies to metals in ear jewelry can also cause inflammation of the ear lobes, typically (but not always) on both sides.
two thick ear lobes can be a red flag:
While cholesterol and fats are being deposited in the inner lining of the arteries, they can also be deposited in the ear lobes, making them thicker.
What about a crease?
Thick ear lobes can later develop a diagonal crease, called “Frank’s crease” or “Frank’s sign (1).”
Do you have a diagonal crease in your ear lobes?
Watch this video:
By the time Frank’s sign appears
There is a strong association with heart disease. One study found that if you have the ear lobe crease, there’s a 78% chance you have heart disease. (2)
In those with no heart disease, having the ear lobe crease multiplies the risk of cardiac events and sudden cardiac death by a factor of 7 to 8x. (3)
Compared to heart patients without the crease, those heart patients with a crease have a 4x higher risk of heart events and sudden death. (3)
What causes the ear lobe crease?
Inflammation in the small artery at the base of the crease.
Inflammation in the ear lobe artery means there’s also inflammation in other arteries. (4)
Arterial inflammation causes strokes and heart attacks.
Can the ear lobe crease be reversed?
Dr. Hight explains in this video how to improve the ear lobe crease.
Can artery disease be reversed?
It can. We help people reverse their artery disease every day! (See our artery testimonials and heart attack survivor pages)
How? our process is simple: three easy steps:
To determine your risk, we measure your artery disease. Then we identify what’s causing it, and help you reverse it.
See your arteries getting better.
Live without fear.
“In 15 years of doing 5-artery ultrasounds, we’ve never seen an event in a patient who’s arteries were improving!”
One of our patients said, “Those ear lobes saved my life.” After hearing his ear lobes might be a red flag for heart disease, he got tested. He had more artery disease than 99% of guys his age. Now his arteries (and his ear lobes) are getting better. Click the “Reversing Heart Disease” video to hear his story.
References:
Frank ST, Aural Sign of Coronary Artery Disease. N Engl J Med 1973;289:327-8
Haim Shmilovich , et. al. Relation of Diagonal Ear Lobe Crease to the Presence, Extent, and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease Determined by Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography The American Journal of Cardiology, Volume 109, Issue 9, 2012, 1283 - 1287
Edston E., et al. The Earlobe Crease, Coronary Artery Disease, and Sudden Cardiac Death: an Autopsy Study of 520 Individuals. Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2006;27:129-3
William J. Elliott, Theodore Karrison. Increased all-cause and cardiac morbidity and mortality associated with the diagonal earlobe crease: A prospective cohort study. Am J Medicine. 91; 3, Sept 1991 (247-254)