Does being tall raise heart attack and stroke risk?

BeInG tall could increase your chances of having a heart attack or stroke, scientists have said.

A study of 2.7million people concluded taller men and women are far more likely to develop blood clots in their veins – a leading cause of heart problems.

And the taller someone is, the greater their risk, according to the research.

A Swedish team examined two huge datasets – one for women and one for men – who were tracked for between 30 and 43 years.

Among 1.6million men, those who were shorter than 5ft 3in were 65 per cent less likely to develop a venous blood clot than those who were taller than 6ft 2in. Similar findings emerged for women, according to the paper published in the medical journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics Report.

Some 1.1million women were tracked from the time of their first pregnancy – a point at which women are particularly at risk of clots. They found women who were shorter than 5ft 1in were 69 per cent less likely to develop a clot than those who measured 6ft or taller. Lead researcher Dr Bengt Zoller, from Lund University in Sweden, suspects the cause may be simple.

‘It could just be that because taller individuals have longer leg veins there is more surface area where problems can occur,’ he said. ‘There is also more gravitational pressure in leg veins of taller persons that can increase the risk of blood flow slowing or temporarily stopping.’

In order to rule out genetic factors, Dr Zoller’s team compared the health records of pairs of siblings. For pairs of brothers, a 3in height gap was linked to a 31 per cent difference in blood clot risk.

And for pairs of sisters the same height disparity was linked to a 35 per cent difference. Blood clots in the veins – including deep vein thrombosis – are the third biggest cause of heart attacks and strokes.

They often occur when people sit inactive for several hours – such as on a long-haul flight or when lying in a hospital bed.

Women who take the contraceptive pill are also at risk.

Dr Zoller said: ‘Height is not something we can do anything about.

‘However, the height in the population has increased, and continues increasing, which could be contributing to the fact that the incidence of thrombosis has increased. I think we should start to include height in risk assessment.’