Abstract
The association between the grade of earlobe creases and degree of atheromatous disease was investigated in 376 postmortem examinations. Each earlobe crease was individually graded from 0 to 3. The risk of atherosclerosis as a cause of death was nearly doubled in men with grade 3 creases in both earlobes, and more than trebled in women with bilateral high-grade creases. The risk of death from myocardial infarction was 2.50 in men with high-grade creases and 3.70 in women. The earlobe crease is an important sign of atheromatous disease and it may be useful to include it in the clinical examination of patients.
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Contributor Information
V. Patel, Registrar in General Medicine. Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Kettering General Hospital, Kettering
C. Champ, Senior Registrar in Pathology. Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Kettering General Hospital, Kettering
P. S. Andrews, Consultant in Pathology. Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Kettering General Hospital, Kettering
B. E. Gostelow, Consultant in Pathology. Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Kettering General Hospital, Kettering
N. P. R. Gunasekara, Consultant in General Medicine. Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Kettering General Hospital, Kettering
A.R. Davidson, Consultant in General Medicine. Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Kettering General Hospital, Kettering