Tall
men appear less likely than shorter ones to develop heart failure, according to
a study covering thousands of US doctors.
Researchers in Boston said that while there is
no proof that a few extra centimeters protect the heart, it was possible that
short and tall people are different in other ways, including in their diets or
diseases growing up, and that this too could affect heart risks.
"This study doesn't say anything definite
about whether height, itself, is going to lead to anything," said lead
researcher Luc Djousse, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical
Center.
But the researchers, whose findings were
published in the American Journal of Cardiology, said it's also possible that
something about the biology of taller people, such as the distance between
their hearts and certain branches of arteries and blood vessels, could decrease
stress on the heart.
Data came from 22,000 male doctors who were
followed as part of a large study of heart disease and cancer, starting when
they were in their mid-50s, on average.
After responding to an initial questionnaire
that asked about their height, weight and health condition, the men filled out
follow-up surveys where they reported new medical diagnoses every year.
The report included data from an average 22
years of that follow-up, during which 1,444 men, or about 7 per cent, developed
heart failure.
The taller men were, the lower their chance of
heart failure, the researchers found.
The tallest men in the study, those over 1.8
meter (six feet), were 24 per cent less likely to less likely to report a heart
failure diagnosis during the study period than men who were 1.72 meters (5 ft 8
in) and shorter.
That was after their age and weight, as well
as whether they had high blood pressure and diabetes, had all been taken into
account.
Even with those considerations, the study
couldn't prove that there wasn't another reason for the findings, said Jeffrey
Teuteberg, a cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who
was not involved in the study.
Others agreed, noting that how rich or poor
the participants were growing up, and what their nutrition was like during key
periods, could also have had an impact on both height and overall heart health.
Djousse said that childhood infections could
both stunt growth and ultimately lead to plaque build-up in the arteries and
high blood pressure, which are tied to heart failure.
A taller frame might mean that when blood is
directed back to the heart at certain points in artery and blood vessel
branches, it takes longer to get there or hits the heart during a
less-stressful part of its rhythm, Teuteberg said.
"As much as we know about the development
of very common diseases like heart failure, there's still a lot we don't
know... There's still a lot more that impacts the development of those diseases
beyond those things," he said.
He added that height is currently not a big
consideration when thinking about heart risks.
"The message certainly shouldn't be: 'If
you're tall, don't worry about these sorts of things, or if you're short,
you're doomed."
Reuters
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