I think the only time I think about my ears is when it's cold outside and they turn red and hurt. Most of the time my ears are just a neat place holder for my glasses and something to keep my cap from covering my entire face. I know hearing is a precious gift but did you know the ear itself could be a predictor of heart disease?

It's called Frank's Sign. It's a crease in your earlobe. Unfortunately the earlobe you see pictured here has a crease in it. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the earlobe belongs to me.

Here's the concept in very layman's terms. I'm not doctor so don't take what I say to be medical gospel but if you follow the links you can read official information before you go running to your healthcare provider or funeral home.

It is suspected that the crease might be formed by degeneration of the elastic materials around the blood vessels in the ear. This same kind of degeneration is noted in patients with heart disease or cardiovascular disease. The hypothesis is basically that if the changes are showing up in the earlobe, they could very well be showing up in other parts of the body.

What are the symptoms or signs of heart disease?  The Mayo Clinic says that chest pain, shortness of breath, numbness or weakness in your arms or legs and pains in the neck, jaw, and throat could be connected to heart issues.  The bottom line is if you think there is something not right with your heart, go see your doctor.

Here's another tip for you. Get someone else to look at your ear since they are very hard to see in the mirror. Or you could  use your smartphone to take an ear selfie. I suggest you do that in private because I got a lot of strange looks when I was taking a picture of my ear in the Rouses parking lot the other day. Oh yeah, one more thing, be healthy because we want you to wake up with us for a lot more years.

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