The shorter you are, higher the risk of developing coronary heart disease

Washington: People with short height face increased risk of developing coronary heart disease, claims a new study. University of Leicester Professor, Nilesh Samani, said that they have shown that the association between shorter height and higher risk of coronary heart disease was a primary relationship and wasn't due to confounding factors such as nutrition or poor socioeconomic conditions.

The study found that every 2.5 inches change in your height affected your risk of coronary heart disease by 13.5 percent. For example, compared to a 5ft 6inch tall person, a 5 foot tall person on average has a 32 percent higher risk of coronary heart disease because of their relatively shorter stature. Coronary heart disease is the commonest cause of premature death worldwide. It is the condition where the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle (coronary arteries) become narrowed due to a deposition of fatty material (plaque) in the walls of the arteries. If a blood clot forms over the plaque then the artery can become completely blocked suddenly giving rise to a heart attack.

Professor Samani concluded that while the findings do not have any immediate clinical implications, better and fuller understanding of the biological mechanisms that underlie the relationship between shorter height and higher risk of coronary heart disease may open up new ways for its prevention and treatment.

The study is published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.