More reason to fixate on aging and our every physical imperfection
An AP story this morning has us concerned that people who look old for their age are at higher risk of heart disease. Various headlines: "Looking Old May Be a Sign of Heart Risks"; "Looking Old May Be a Sign of Heart Disease"; "Looking Old? It Could Be Heart Disease"; "Visible Aging Signs May Predict Heart Disease." Fascinating; for real, though?
Dr. Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen presented research at an American Heart Association conference yesterday in which researchers at the University of Copenhagen correlated 11,000 Danish people's appearances with their incidence of heart disease. The stories are based on that.
"The visible signs of aging reflect physiologic or biologic age and are independent of chronologic age," she said -- which is a super engaging proposition. The age-is-just-a-number theory takes us from college bars to Zuckerberg to Sandusky, and now to cardiovascular risk factors. Appraising someone's heart just by looking at them would be cost-effective and great, for doctors and discerning suitors alike.

But, but; but -- the physical characteristics that correlated with heart disease in this study were few:
- Baldness/receding hairline
- Bumpy cholesterol deposits around the eyes
- Earlobe creases