Short people have higher heart risk

Some risk factors you can control, some you can’t… and a new study finds heart risk in one area that’s well beyond your control: height.

In fact, short people–defined as men under 5’4″ and women under the 5-foot mark–were 50 percent more likely to suffer from heart disease and death from heart disease than tall people, which was defined as men over 5’8″ and women taller than 5’4″.

Overall, short men and women had a 52 percent higher risk of heart attack than taller people.

I guess size really does matter after all!

Finnish researchers looked at 52 studies with more than 3 million participants, and found that height emerged as an independent risk factor for heart problems–possibly due to smaller coronary arteries in short people, which in turn can become blocked earlier in life.

The researchers also say that shorter people have a higher mortality rate overall when compared to taller people. Short men are 37 percent more likely to die of any cause, and women are 55 percent more likely to die of any cause, according to the analysis published in the European Heart Journal.

But if you’re smaller in stature, take heart–there are so many lifestyle factors that play a role in heart disease, and just about all of them are far more important than your height.

Your weight, for example, is the biggest risk factor of all –-and that’s completely within your power to change. You’re much better off being short and slender than tall and obese.

So whether you’re always in the front row of group photos, or ready to join the NBA, the basics still hold true: Don’t smoke, drink moderately and enjoy a good diet low in sugar and processed foods, and high in the essential nutrients your body needs for good health.

Like I said, it’s basic stuff… but effective enough to help anyone stand tall in the face of disease.

Or you could just wear higher heels. They won’t lower your risk for any diseases… but they might make you feel better about your height.