Blood type may affect heart health

An individual’s blood stype could affect his heart health, a new US study has suggested, indicating that the odds of heart disease increase slightly with types A, B and AB. According to HealthDay news, this genetic predisposition can be countered by living a healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet, exercise and well-controlled blood pressure, cholesterol and weight, experts from Harvard University say. “Our data suggests the importance of knowing blood type as one factor in susceptibility to cardiovascular disease,” said lead researcher Lu Qi. “Although we continue to recommend healthy lifestyle to everyone, those who carry high-risk blood types may need to pay more attention to reducing their risk,” he added. For the study, Qi’s team collected data on more than 60,000 women who took part and more than 17,000 people. Participants, who were between 30 and 75 years old, were followed for more than 20 years. The researchers found that people with type AB, the rarest blood type, had a 23 percent increased risk for heart disease compared to people with type O blood. The increased risk was 11 percent for people with blood type B, and 5 percent for those with type A. During the study, they accounted for factors such as diet, age, weight, sex, race, smoking, menopause and medical history. There is evidence, however, suggesting type A is associated with higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), the researchers said. Also, type O may contain a factor that helps blood flow and prevents clotting, they said.