On ear creases and heart disease

Q: Is there any relationship between a crease in the earlobe and heart disease?

The relationship between earlobe crease and heart disease, primarily coronary disease (heart attacks), was first suggested more than thirty years ago and has been studied many times in various populations. Some Greco-Roman statues in the Louvre Museum in Paris show the earlobe crease, so the finding goes back 2,000 years or more. The results of some studies indicate that the earlobe crease is associated with age, and age is associated with vascular disease. Others conclude that the crease is an independent predictor of heart disease and, more recently, carotid artery thickening. Whatever, the relationship is not that good because many people without the crease have heart attacks and many with the crease do not. Given my choice of a predictor of atherosclerosis and heart attacks, I'd pick the cholesterol level over the earlobe crease. But even the cholesterol is not perfect, since almost half of those with heart attacks can have normal cholesterol levels.