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When people monitor their own health, they usually attempt to change factors that put them at risk for health problems. Weight, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure levels are all examples. Some health factors cannot be changes, however. One of these factors is blood type. This article will discuss how blood type could be a risk factor and how to monitor health based on blood type.

Blood Type and Risk for Heart Attack

Research suggests that people who have a non-O blood type may be at a higher risk for experiencing cardiac problems, including heart attack. A study presented at Heart Failure 2017 and the 4th World Congress on Acute Heart Failure in Paris, France in April 2017 analyzed other studies that examine risk of cardiac events based on blood type. Nine articles with a total of 1,362,569 subjects were included in this analysis. These nine research studies examined the risk of cardiac event, including heart attack, coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, combined cardiovascular events, and fatal coronary events. Subjects in these studies were separated into O and non-O blood types.

The combined results of these studies showed that people who have a non-O blood type, including A, B, and AB, have a 9% higher risk of having either a coronary event or a cardiovascular event than people with an O blood type. There was no difference found between O and non-O blood types regarding risk of a fatal coronary event. Researchers stated that the reasons for these differences are currently being studied, but could be related to the presence of higher levels of a blood clotting protein in people with non-O blood types. People with non-O blood types are also known to have higher cholesterol and higher levels of galactin-3, which is related to inflammation. The researchers concluded that blood type should be considered in risk assessment for cardiovascular health.

Using Blood Type as a Factor in Health and Wellness Tracking

While people who are monitoring health at home cannot change their blood types, they can consider blood type when selecting risk factors that they can change. Having a non-O blood type is a fitting example. If a person has type A, B or AB blood, that person will know that he or she is already at a 9% greater risk of having cardiac problems than someone with type O blood. Since the risk is already greater, that person can set up personal health tracking that will monitor blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol levels, and other risk factors that indicate cardiac problems. The person can then work on changing the risk factors that can be changed, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, resulting in reducing personal risk of a cardiac event. That person can also alert his or her doctor to the fact that non-O blood type is a risk factor for cardiac problems, helping the doctor to develop a wellness plan for that person. Blood type is not a risk factor that doctors commonly consider, so the person may have to show the doctor this evidence before it is included in a health risk assessment.

How to Set Up Health Assessment at Home

Of course, blood type cannot be determined at home, and cholesterol must be checked through lab tests, but other cardiac factors such as blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate can be monitored at home. HomeLab by QuantiHealth Corp. offers people a self-assessment system that includes the health check equipment and online health measurement apps to allow tracking of many risk factors, including those related to cardiac health. This type of tracking can be used to identify any changes that could indicate possible cardiac problems, which can lead to early detection and prevention of a serious cardiac condition. While one risk factor, such as blood type, might not reveal a potential cardiac condition, the combination of data from several risk factors can be very helpful in determining actual cardiac health.

For more information on HomeLab by QuantiHealth Corp., visit www.thequantihealth.com.

Tag: health risk assessment, health check, Health and Wellness Tracking.