Can your blood type tell you anything about your health? Learn about the connection between blood type and your heart health.
For more than half a century, researchers have been trying to figure out if having a certain blood type increases heart disease risk. Even though many U.S. adults don’t even know their blood type, there are plenty of studies exploring this question.
Since the early 1900s, scientists have explored the connection between blood type and heart disease risk. One popular finding suggests that people with A, B, and AB blood types are at higher risk of developing heart disease. The following is an overview of studies exploring the link between blood type and your heart health.
What the Studies Say
There are four blood type groups: A, B, AB, and O. Moreover, depending on whether they have the Rh factor (an antigen), these blood types are considered negative or positive. For example, if someone has blood type O but lacks the Rh factor, they are O negative.
Since the Framingham study in the 1970s, the heart disease risk for non-O blood type groups has been reported from slight to significant in subsequent studies. Currently, this risk remains, but it’s important to note that there are some inconsistencies in the findings.
For instance, according to a 2012 study in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, people with AB blood types had a 23% higher risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those with O blood types. Moreover, people with B blood types have an 11% higher risk. Other data, like the one presented at the 2017 Heart Failure meeting in Paris, suggests that individuals with A, B, and AB blood types were 9% more likely to experience a cardiovascular event than O blood types.
Furthermore, researchers at Penn Medicine found mixed results when examining the link between blood type and heart health. While they found no association between blood type and heart disease in patients without prior cardiovascular events from the Framingham Heart Study, they did find that risk was evident when they expanded their research to five other cohorts from previous studies. According to these results, people with non-O blood type had a 12% increased risk for cardiovascular events.
The Outlook
While some studies do show a connection, more research is necessary to prove that blood type has a significant effect on heart health. In other words, even if blood type has an effect, your focus should be on factors that you can change like activity levels, diet, smoking, and other lifestyle habits.
Furthermore, if you want to give your heart an extra boost, take supplements like HeartBeet Complete. Its ingredients are effective at promoting circulation, blood pressure health, energy levels, and more. Give your heart the support it deserves by adopting healthy lifestyle habits and taking Heartbeet Complete.
