My DH had them. He also had the lowest cholesterol numbers I've ever heard, and never had a heart problem.

Can you cite that study? I have not heard of that.

Pickyshopper, that is interesting. I don't have a crease but did hear of that study or whatever. I thought it was just another thing for people to worry about....

Grandma used to say,

"Never cross bridges ...

... till you get there!".

ole joyful

Have heard that too. I have half a crease in one ear and was concerned because my father died of heart disease. Several years ago, I had to have a full cardiac checkup (Nuclear stress test, echocardiogram, ekg, holter monitor) because of palpitations and asked the cardiologist,

He showed me the deep creases on both of his ears and told me he does not believe it's true. He said some people with heart disease have creases, and some don't. And just because someone has them does not mean they have heart disease, and just because someone does not have them, does not mean they don't have it. Incidentally, one of our neighbors had a heart attack and a stroke, and his lobes were smooth as a baby's bottom.

The Cardiologist also said regardless whether you have creases or not, try to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible and if you do have an inherited tendency toward heart disease, a healthy lifestyle will certainly help prevent it.

Furthermore, here's question to a syndicated newspaper doc, and he also disputes the link (plus, his name means God in German, so his info must be reliable :o) ):

DEAR DR. GOTT: Are creases in the earlobe always a precursor to heart trouble?

DEAR READER: In a word, no. For more than 50 years (52 to be exact), there has been debate over whether creased earlobes can be tied to coronary-artery disease. In fact, the New York Times printed an article in 1984 on the subject. Physicians in Long Island reported to the New England Journal of Medicine that there was a significant statistical link in men with creased earlobes being diagnosed with heart disease. A crease is identified as a diagonal line that begins where the lobe attaches to the head and then runs backward toward the lower edge of the lobe.

Women are not exempt from creased lobes; however, there doesnâÂÂt appear to be any association with heart disease, as there is with men. Ears wrinkle, especially with advanced age. And it is thought the ears wrinkle simply because people commonly sleep on their right or left sides.

Here is a link that might be useful: Are earlobe wrinkles accurate diagnostic tools?

I have one on my left ear and I've always attributed it to the fact that I sleep on my left side almost all the time. I have a goofy left eyebrow, too. :) Glad to see Dr. Gott agrees with me!

It's called the "Frank sign" after Sanders Frank, MD. He published a study on the findings in 1973. He moved from Los Angles to practice in our small city in the 1990's (iirc). He died when he fell down stairs @ home... rumored it was a heart attack that caused the fall. I don't know if he himself had "the sign".

well that's good to know, i had read that study years ago, too...

I just saw this on the internet, so I checked it out. Oh great, I thought to myself, another thing to worry about! My doctor put me on a low 10mg daily dose of Lipitor 17 years ago and a minimum 5mg daily dose of a channel blocker 13 years ago. 4 1/2 months ago I stopped taking the pills. For more than a year now, ever since my doctor told me my PSA number was slightly elevated and was hovering around 6, I've been making many dietary and lifestyle changes in order to prepare for going all natural. I have cut out dairy from my diet and I now limit my red meat intake to no more than 2 or 3 times a week. I also drink a glass of soy milk every day and a glass of pomegranate juice, along with pomegranate extract, green tea extract, a fish oil supplement, a garlic supplement and a daily low dose Aspirin. I'm hoping these and other changes that I have made will prevent heart disease. I feel great, and I have noticed many physical improvements, including in the bedroom, I won't go into details with that, but let's just say that I'm now doing better in that department than I did when I was in my twenties! I no longer need to take a nap every day either! I also think this earlobe thing is a bunch of rubbish. It doesn't mean anything. My left earlobe has a crease, but my right one doesn't. So what does that mean? LOL Anyway, my advice for anybody is to take good care of yourself, eat well, be physically active, and don't smoke, etc. You should be fine if you do these things. Life is like a lottery at the best of times, so there's no point in worrying about things needlessly, unless there's a really good reason to do it. Oh, and I don't go to that doctor anymore. He was a pill pusher. I've been checking my BP at home, and my average number since last June is 138/82. Not great, but still normal. I expect it to go lower over the coming months as the effects of the changes kick in. My BP has always been at or very close to this number my entire life anyway, even when I was on the pills. It's just the way that I'm built. I'm 54 and I don't have heart disease (at least not that I know of!)

No I do not have a crease and yes I had heard of that study some time ago.

Sue

No. I'd never heard of the study or the purported connection. Can't recall ever noticing anyone's ear crease, but now I'll be paying attention.

The link below explain what a risk factor actually is and how little it really has to do with our long term health and longevity. As the article says at the end. The greatest risk factor we face for disease is aging.

Risk Factor Myth

Good article!

Ha! I have been told my entire life that I have 'risk factors' for heart disease (cholesterol, blood pressure), since I was in my 20's. Guess what? I'm 54 now and I STILL don't have heart disease. High normal or borderline numbers. So much B.S. My quack doctor noticed that my blood sugar was 6.3 once, and he was all set to send me to a diabetes clinic. Well, guess what? I got it checked a couple of weeks later and it was perfect. That was in 2005, ELEVEN years ago. I'm not a diabetic now, nor have I ever been one. Then last year he tried to mess with my prostate. My PSA number was up. He did a digital exam and found nothing. Sorry, but I need more than a PSA number to scare me into getting one of those intrusive, painful and very risky biopsies, which by the way make a LOT of money for the hospitals, drug companies, etc. Just sayin'.