Can Your Blood Type Put You at Risk for Heart Disease?
16 May 2018
Have you ever wondered what your blood type says about your health? According to the research presented at the European Society of Cardiology [1]congress last year, “having a non-O blood group is associated with a higher risk of heart attack”.
Who’s affected?
The NHS asserts that the O blood group is both the safest and the most common blood type in the UK, with 48% of the population having this blood type. This is followed by the A blood group that over 44% of people living in the UK belong to.
Scientists suggest that people with a non-O blood group are put at greater risk because higher levels of a blood-clotting protein are present in people with A, B and AB blood. Moreover, non-O blood groups are also known to have a higher cholesterol level (especially those with blood type A), which drastically increases the chance of suffering from heart disease.
What’s the risk?
A combination of factors can contribute to your heart health, but a non-O blood type is predominantly known for triggering cardiovascular issues such as coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke. Research carried out at the Harvard School of Public Health[2] has shown that blood groups A and B are more likely to develop heart diseases than O blood groups by 5% and 11% respectively. AB blood type represents the highest increase in risk, at 23% higher than O blood groups.
Furthermore, there is also a significant risk for non-O blood type individuals living in highly polluted cities around the world. A variant ABO gene – which can be only found in A, B and AB blood types – has been linked with an elevated risk of heart attack, stroke, arrhythmias and heart failure in areas of higher pollution.
How to reduce the risks
Although the risk of heart disease is mostly determined by age and genetics, people can immediately reduce the danger by altering their lifestyle. This includes eliminating irreversible risk factors such as smoking, excessive drinking and a lack of physical activity, which can result in major chronic diseases including blood clots, high blood pressure and other heart related problems.
Lorne Labs can help with classifying your Blood Group. Lorne Labs is the only independent firm in England to have consistently sought to provide a total solution for Blood Transfusion professionals around the world. To help determine blood groups, we supply high quality blood grouping reagents, including a range of rare grouping sera, as well as Red Cells and Diagnostic Kits that are compliant with all UK and European guidelines.
[1] https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/non-o-blood-groups-associated-with-higher-risk-of-heart-attack
[2] https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/qi-blood-type-heart-disease-risk/
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