If you see a hair-loss pattern, do something

The Cleveland Browns football team has averaged about four wins and 12 losses every year for the past 10 years. They’re currently 0-15, after going 1-15 in 2016. See a pattern here? Sure you do, and it’s not improving! It has even prompted one Cleveland fan to secure a parade permit to celebrate “the perfect season” on Jan. 6, 2018, if the team finishes up 0-16.

A pattern of losing seasons doesn’t just spell trouble for a football team. Another losing pattern that spells trouble for guys is premature male pattern baldness— and premature graying. Doctors recently found an association between those two conditions and heart disease. They studied 790 men younger than 40 who had coronary artery disease and a control group of 270 healthy men. The young men with CAD had a higher prevalence of male-pattern baldness (49 percent vs 27 percent) and premature graying (50 percent vs 30 percent) than their healthy counterparts.

So heads-up: If you’re 40 or younger and turning gray and or losing your hair, consider amping up your heart-protection routines.

Ask your doc to test for your hearthealth numbers: blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, hsCRP—an inflammation marker, body mass index, HbA1C and/ or fasting blood glucose and TMAO, an indicator of stroke and heart attack risk.

Embrace heart-lovin’ habits: 10,000 steps a day; two days strength training weekly; 7-9 servings produce daily; no red or processed meats; stress reduction (check out the Sharecare app to assess your stress level). Then you’ll have a winning record, season after season.