Study claims deep forehead wrinkles point to high risk of cardiovascular disease

Deep forehead wrinkles, more than what is typical for your age, may signal a higher risk of dying of a cardiovascular disease.

The most common types of cardiovascular diseases include coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, cardiac arrest, congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, peripheral artery disease, stroke, and congenital heart disease.

According to the study by the European Society of Cardiology, assessing brow wrinkles could be an easy, low-cost way to identify people in a high-risk category for cardiovascular disease.

“You can’t see or feel risk factors like high cholesterol or hypertension,” says study author Yolande Esquirol, associate professor of occupational health at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse in France.

“We explored forehead wrinkles as a marker because it’s so simple and visual. Just looking at a person’s face could sound an alarm, then we could give advice to lower risk.”

Risk of heart disease increases as people age, but lifestyle changes like getting more exercise or eating healthier food can lower the risks.

“Of course, if you have a person with a potential cardiovascular risk, you have to check classical risk factors like blood pressure as well as lipid and blood glucose levels, but you could already share some recommendations on lifestyle factors,” Esquirol added.