Source: Thailand Medical News Jan 27, 2020 4 years, 10 months, 4 weeks, 19 hours, 5 minutes ago
Individuals with
blood types A and
B may have higher risks for developing dangerous
blood clots compared to people who have type O blood. That's according to new research that also showed a slightly higher risk for certain types of
heart disease among the
A and
B groups.
Previous research has shown a likely link between
heart disease and the
ABO gene that exists in people with
A,
B or
AB blood types, but not in people with type O blood. A 2017 preliminary study showed people with the
ABO gene are at higher risk of
heart attack during periods of heavy
air pollution.
The recent study of more than 400,000 people published in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. Researchers found that compared to people with type O blood, those with
types A or
B had a combined 8% higher risk of
heart attack and 10% increased risk of
heart failure.
Most importantly, the biggest difference had to do with
blood clots in the veins. Compared to people with type O blood, individuals in the
type A and
B groups were 51% more likely to develop
deep vein thrombosis and 47% more likely to develop a
pulmonary embolism.
Typically,
deep vein thrombosis is when
clots usually occur in the leg while
pulmonary embolism is when a
clot travels to the lungs. These are two of the most common vascular diseases. They affect as many as 900,000 Americans each year, resulting in 100,000 deaths.
Possessing
type A or
B blood did however lower the risk of high blood pressure by 3% compared to those with type O blood.
The research findings could have implications for personalized medicine, said Dr Hilde Groot, the study's lead author and an MD/Ph.D. student at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Dr Groot told
Thailand Medical News, "Determining someone's
blood group is relatively easy, low in cost and widely used. General practitioners might use this information in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, and medical professionals can consider including
blood group information in future trials for risk and treatment approaches."
However, Dr Groot said the findings should not be evaluated on their own.
Medical director of the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Program at the University of Vermont M
edical Center in Burlington, Dr. Mary Cushman, who was not involved in the study, said people with
blood types A and
B need to be aware that surgery, trauma and immobilization increase the risk of
blood clots.
Anyone can lower their risk by maintaining a healthy weight and diet and exercising regularly, she said.
Dr Cushman added, "At this point, we don't understand the reasons (behind the findings). However, we know that people who are not O
blood type tend to have higher cardiovascular risk, so that maintenance of healthy lifestyle is the best approach."
The research was limited because researchers excluded people with
type AB blood due to their small number compared to other
blood types. Dr Cushman said the research also was hindered by a lack of cause-and-effect explanations, especially when it came to high blood pressure.
Dr Cushman further added, "Why non-O
type blood would lower hypertension when it increases cardiovascular diseases is not clear. I don't advise that patients with non-O
blood types get distressed over these findings, but that they simply utilize them to consider how they might take better care to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Many of these diseases can be prevented through lifestyle and treatment of
hypertension and high cholesterol."
Reference: Genetically Determined ABO Blood Group and its Associations With Health and Disease , Hilde E. Groot, Laura E. Villegas Sierra, M. Abdullah Said, Erik Lipsic, Jacco C. Karper, Pim van der Harst , Originally published 23 Jan 2020 https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.119.313658 Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. ;0:ATVBAHA.119.313658
