Bald fact about heart attack links

MEN who go grey or bald before they turn 40 may be at greater risk of suffering a heart attack, research suggests.

People who lose their hair or go grey in their 20s or 30s are five times as likely to also suffer heart problems at an early age, scientists found. It is an even bigger risk factor than obesity, which raises the risk of early heart disease four times.

Experts suspect premature balding and grey hair are red flags that the body is ageing too fast. They believe some people’s “biological age” accelerates faster than their real, or chronological, age.

This happens when DNA starts to deteriorate. Such a process harms the heart, but also damages the hair follicles.

The study by the United Nations Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre in India compared 790 men who had heart disease before the age of 40 with 1270 healthy men of the same age. The men with heart disease were significantly more likely to be prematurely grey or balding than the healthy individuals.

The British Heart Foundation said: “Identifying men with premature hair loss and greying may help identify those with an increased risk of developing heart disease.”