Bald Head Man at Risk for Coronary Heart Disease

Medical Video: Preventing Coronary Artery Disease

Do you have hair loss problems that cause baldness in part or all of your head? Recently a study found that there is a baldness that occurs in men with an increased risk of heart health. Men who have bald heads are thought to have a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a type of heart disease that causes high rates of death and disability in the world. CHD is a disease condition in which blood vessels are filled with fat buildup so that blood flow is not smooth. Plaques clog the coronary arteries which should feed the heart muscles, but in patients who have coronary heart disease, oxygen does not reach the heart muscle. This causes the heart muscle to not pump blood properly and disruption occurs. If this disease continues to be left it can cause heart failure and arrhythmias. How can baldness cause heart disease?

Baldness on the crown of the head is most at risk for heart disease

Actually many risk factors can cause heart disease in a person, one of which is baldness in men. This is evidenced in a study conducted by researchers from the University of Tokyo who conducted an analysis of various studies on coronary heart disease. Of the 850 studies that examined this association, experts only took as many as 6 studies whose data was considered quite relevant and reliable. Six of these studies involved groups of men aged 55 to 60 years, and involved as many as 40 thousand men studied for up to 14 years.

Then the researchers divided the respondents into groups based on their respective baldness, namely baldness in all parts of the head, mild baldness, baldness on the crown (upper head), and baldness on the front of the head. Then, after analyzing the six studies, it was found that from 3 studies, men who had bald heads tended to experience a 32% increased risk of developing coronary heart disease compared to people who were not bald.

In the group of men aged 50 to 60 years, an increased risk of coronary heart disease and vascular disorders was found to be 44%. Whereas in the other three studies it was stated that the chance for coronary heart disease in the bald male group was 70-84%. And, it is also known that the greater risk is owned by a group of men who have baldness on the crown or upper head.

What is the connection between a bald head and a heart?

Actually, the relationship between baldness and coronary heart disease is still unclear. Coronary heart disease is a degenerative disease whose cause is most caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. However, the researchers gave several hypotheses regarding the reasons why bald people are more at risk of developing coronary heart disease, as follows.

Bald people are more likely to experience hyperinsulinaemia or resistant insulin. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels in the body. When the diet is not good so that blood sugar levels rise, insulin should help normalize blood sugar. But because insulin in bald people is resistant, blood sugar increases and does not return to normal. This can be one of the risk factors for coronary heart disease. The condition of insulin resistance is also known to make the blood vessels around the head narrow and lack nutrients, causing hair loss and not being strong.

Baldness that occurs in men may be caused by an increase in peripheral sensitivity to androgens and shows an increase in free testosterone. This free testosterone will be converted into a substance that can trigger hair loss. The substance is also responsible for blockages in blood vessels.

If I have a bald head, will I definitely get heart disease?

Baldness is very common due to heredity or genes, and is experienced by as many as 30 to 40 percent of adult men. If it happens genetically, you can't do anything about it. But that does not mean if you have a bald head then definitely experience heart disease. Still, heart disease like coronary heart disease is caused by a variety of things, although the most important is lifestyle. Therefore, you can still manage and change your lifestyle and diet into a healthier pattern.