The blood group you belong to is more than just a marker to match your donation; it may have something telling you about your probability of acquiring certain diseases. A new study published in the Journal of Neurology notes that it can be made an assumption from your blood group by which you are most likely to have an early-onset ischemic stroke at the age under 60.

Although the factors like genetics, age, and lifestyle are the factors that best contribute to the risk of a stroke, this new research has really shed new light on how blood group can be considered as playing a pivotal role than ever thought.

How Your Blood Type links to Stroke Risk?

A study suggests that an independent relationship exists between blood type A and an elevated risk for an early-onset ischemic stroke. Ischemic strokes are the presence of a blood clot in one artery, which causes blockage of blood flow to the brain, and about 90% of all stroke cases. The CDC suggests that in the United States, someone has a stroke every 40 seconds while one person dies from a stroke every 3.5 minutes.

This new research, hence, opens the possibilities that an earlier incidence of ischemic stroke in youth could be attributed to blood type A.

But it's worth remembering that blood type is just one of hundreds of risk factors, according to co-author Braxton Mitchell, PhD, MPH, a genetic epidemiologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "In the grand scheme of things, it's a much smaller risk factor than others," he said. Other genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors still determine stroke risk.

Blood Type A: Strong Link to Early-Onset Stroke

Study authors conducted a genome-wide association analysis, recruiting nearly 17,000 patients with stroke aged 18 to 59 years from 48 studies and more than 599,000 controls who never had a stroke history. The analysis was aimed at exploring genetic variants throughout the human genome in greater detail.

The ABO blood group possessed genetic differences, and the blood type A was the strongest risk factor for a stroke that occurred early in life. The possibility of having an early onset ischemic stroke was 18% higher among people with blood type A compared to the rest of the blood groups. Such a high risk could be associated with a higher susceptibility to blood coagulation, which is one of the most common causes of ischemic strokes.

Blood Type O: Lower Stroke Risk

On the other hand, individuals with type O blood have a 12% reduced risk of an early-onset stroke compared to other blood types. This is in-line with earlier research that has found people with type O blood are more likely to be at low risk for blood clotting inside their arteries, which could be the reason why their overall risk of having a stroke decreased.

Blood Type B and AB: Mixed Bag

Another blood group-the research looked at blood group B-for which a weak association is found with the onset of early and late stroke. However, the authors indicate that when sex and other risk factors are adjusted, no association between blood group B and increased stroke risk exists. In persons with blood group AB, there is no significant association discovered for having an elevated stroke risk.

Other Risk Factors

While this study points to the effect of blood type, it is important to understand that blood type alone is not a strong predictor of stroke risk. Many other factors are comprised in this, including lifestyle, and most importantly, underlying health conditions. Age is one critical factor. According to the CDC, your risk for stroke doubles with each decade after age 55.

While strokes are more likely to affect people who are 65 years of age and older, one in seven strokes strikes people aged 15 to 49.

Thirdly, gender another factor that has been related to increased risks of stroke conditions. The female population is more prone to stroke compared to the male population and tends to have a worse outcome in terms of disability and death due to stroke.

It was recently indicated in the 2022 study that young women aged between 35-45 years had a 44% increased risk of ischemic stroke as compared to men aged between 35-45 years. Perhaps pregnancy or the use of birth control could be some of the factors behind the usual increased risk in women.

Ways You Can Manage Stroke Risk

While the study does show a genetic element linked to blood type and stroke, other controllable factors are more important risks for stroke. Here are some steps you can take to reduce your total risk:

1. Control Blood Pressure: High blood pressure forms one of the most dominant risks for strokes. Control through regular monitoring, medication if required, and lifestyle modifications can prove to reduce this significantly.

2. Maintain a Healthy Weight: Being overweight increases the risk of stroke. Anyone can benefit from staying at a healthy weight and living a healthy lifestyle. A balanced diet and regular exercise can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight and thus minimize your risk for stroke.

3. Reduce Alcohol Intake and Quit Smoking: Too much alcohol drinking and smoking are also significant risk factors for stroke. Cutting down on alcohol consumption and quitting smoking would be two very important lifestyle changes for anyone interested in being healthy.

4. Stay Physically Fit: Exercise is known to keep the heart healthy, reduce blood pressure, and promote a healthy weight all of which contribute to a decrease chance for stroke.

5. Monitor Your Cholesterol: It's a fact that high cholesterol builds up plaques in arteries, thereby increasing the chances of stroke occurrence. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins are part of a heart-healthy diet that helps keep cholesterol at bay.

This research thus brings forward a new and enlightened perspective of the correlation between blood type and stroke risk, especially in younger ages. Although type A blood might have a propensity for developing early ischemic stroke, it is worth noting that this is just one of many factors responsible for developing a stroke.

Focusing on controllable lifestyle factors such as remaining within a healthy weight range, staying active, and managing blood pressure will help significantly reduce the chances of having a stroke regardless of the blood type.

We all love a bit of touch up, whether on a regular day or for an event. For millions of women across the globe, threading is a regular part of their beauty routine. From shaping eyebrows to removing unwanted facial hair, this grooming technique is practiced weekly or monthly and is widely considered quick, safe, and inexpensive.

But a recent video from a doctor turned influencer has caused a stir online by claiming that threading — like tattooing and body piercing — can potentially spread Hepatitis B, a serious liver infection.

What Did The Doctor Say?

In a video that has garnered over 400,000 views within two days, Dr Vishal Gabale, an internal medicine doctor from Navi Mumbai, narrates a case where three young women, all of whom had visited the same threading salon, tested positive for Hepatitis B with identical virus strains.

Dr Gabale says he investigated the case like a “medical mystery,” and found the common link between the patients was their visit to the same salon. Citing a 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) bulletin, he claims that Hepatitis B has been known to spread through tattooing, razor-sharing, and “even cosmetic procedures like threading.”

According to him, threading can cause micro-abrasions, and if contaminated tools or threads are used, the virus could survive for days — even without visible blood.

Medical Experts Respond with Skepticism

However, not all doctors are convinced. A dermatologist based in Hyderabad acknowledges that if threading causes skin abrasions, transmission is “theoretically possible,” but stresses that no confirmed case has ever been recorded.

“Tattoos are a different story — they break the skin and do carry a risk. But threading is far more superficial,” he said. “If threading was truly risky, we’d have seen documented evidence by now, considering how common the practice is.”

He also criticized the influencer’s decision to disable comments on the video, making it harder for experts to counter misleading claims.

Missing Evidence and Misleading Sources

Hyderabad-based neurologist Dr Sudhir Kumar also raised concerns. He pointed out a small disclaimer in the video saying it’s “only for educational purposes” and presents a theoretical risk — suggesting the doctor hadn’t treated any actual Hepatitis B cases linked to threading.

“The issue is that viewers may miss that disclaimer and assume the risk is real. But to date, not a single case report has linked Hepatitis B transmission to threading — that’s significant,” Dr Kumar explained.

About the WHO bulletin cited in the video, the doctor reportedly shared a screenshot of an unrelated 2010 article, which did not reference threading and wasn’t published by WHO.

Beauty Risks vs. Clickbait

Dr Kumar added that while there are documented links between Hepatitis B and procedures like tattooing, body piercing, manicures, or even shaving with unsterile equipment, threading has never been associated with such risk, reported The South First.

He warns against fear-mongering and called the video an example of “clickbait,” made worse by its origin — a doctor, not just an influencer.

“Threading doesn’t typically break the skin. Unlike tattooing or piercings, it doesn’t create the conditions necessary for virus transmission. We must focus on real risks — unprotected sex, reused medical needles, and poor hygiene in clinical settings — not unproven, hypothetical scenarios,” he said.

Our eyes can reveal a lot about us, you can say that they are not just the window to our soul but also to our health. Not only can you see signs of conditions like high cholesterol and diabetes, but doctors can also identify signs of a few other diseases.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, doctors can spot signs of heart disease during a regular eye exam. They also explain how studies have found that people with heart disease often have tiny "eye strokes" in their retinas.

Harvard Health Publishing adds that sudden changes in your vision, like blurriness, dark spots, or shadows, could mean there's a blockage in an eye blood vessel. This can be a warning sign of a more serious stroke in your brain. Also, there's growing evidence that tiny, early damage to blood vessels in your eyes might predict heart problems. Other unusual eye changes can also hint at heart issues, like small yellow bumps around your eyes, or pupils that get bigger and smaller with your heartbeat.

How Eye Changes Show Heart Health

Tiny blood vessels, as thin as a single strand of hair, supply blood to your retina. Harvard Health Publishing also explains that these tiny vessels, like arteries throughout your body, can be damaged by long-term problems like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Over time, high blood sugar, which is diabetes, makes the walls of these eye vessels weak and leaky. This condition is called diabetic retinopathy and can harm your vision. Poorly controlled high blood pressure can also make eye arteries narrow or break and bleed into the retina.

Both diabetes and high blood pressure are known to contribute to heart disease. But sometimes people don't even know they have these conditions if they haven't seen a doctor in years.

Yellow Bumps Around the Eyes

Harvard Health Publishing also specifies that some adults, usually middle-aged or older, develop soft, yellowish bumps filled with cholesterol on or around their eyelids, often near the nose. These are called xanthelasmas. They don't hurt and rarely affect vision. But they can be a sign of high levels of cholesterol or other fats in the blood. They're a bit more common in women. If you have them, you should definitely get a cholesterol test. Xanthelasmas are more common in people with genetic conditions that cause very high cholesterol.

About half of people with xanthelasmas have normal cholesterol levels, and for them, the bumps are just a cosmetic issue. But if heart disease runs in your family, make sure your doctor knows about these bumps, as they could be a sign of a higher risk of heart problems.

What Are Eye Strokes?

Eye strokes happen when the eye doesn't get enough blood and oxygen, causing some cells to die. This leaves a small mark called a "retinal ischemic perivascular lesion." Eye doctors can see these marks using a special camera called an OCT (optical coherence tomography) to look closely at the back of your eye.

American Academy of Ophthalmology says these eye scans are great for finding problems all over the body, not just in the eyes. They can even show signs of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Rare Occurrence of Pupil That Pulsates with Your Heartbeat

Harvard Health also brings up a rare yet obvious sign of heart issues that affect your eyes. In serious cases, a rare eye sign can appear: your pupils might get bigger and smaller with each heartbeat. This is called Landolfi's sign, first described in 1909. People with this heart condition have a big difference between the two numbers in their blood pressure (the top and bottom numbers). The pupil movements show these big changes in pressure.

A 2017 issue of the American Journal of Medicine detailed a case study of a 60-year-old woman who was admitted with shortness of breath, lightheadedness as well as palpitations, which when checked, doctors heard a murmur. Another careful examination of the eyes revealed constriction and dilation of the pupils which synchronized with the patients' heartbeat. The study detailed how this was a sign of the “Landolfi's sign”.

How An Eye Check-up Can Save You

For people with heart disease, which is the leading cause of death worldwide, finding it early and getting treatment can help prevent a heart attack or a bigger stroke.

In the future, if an eye doctor sees these eye strokes on a scan, they might send the patient to a heart doctor, especially if the patient hasn't had a full health checkup or doesn't know if heart disease runs in their family.

We are back again at the viral season. Infections, fevers and COVID-19 cases, everything is going on altogether. Amid all this it is important that you go see your doctor. But, how often must you see them?

Routinely evaluating your risk factors can actually help you steer clear of diseases, ailments and more. This is not just about viral infections, but also chronic diseases, that may have silent symptoms, and so a regular check-up can help you stay one step ahead, always.

How Often Should You Go See Your Doctor?

The recommendation on how frequently should you pay your doc a visit also depends on your age, risk factors and your current health status.

If you are under the age of 45, and in good health, you must visit your doc in every one to three years. If you turn 45 or are over 45, then you must make it a habit to visit your doc once a year.

If you are living with a chronic disease, like diabetes, or COPD, then it is important that you go see a doctor more frequently. For this, your age does not matter. Then, you doctor too can suggest how often must you get your screenings done.

What Are The Benefits Of Regular Checkups?

• Early Detection: Routine checkups help identify potentially serious health issues before they become major problems.
• Timely Treatment: Early intervention increases the chances of successful outcomes and can often prevent complications.
• Ongoing Management: Regular monitoring of existing conditions helps prevent them from worsening or leading to severe health issues.
• Preventive Care: Staying current with vaccinations and screenings ensures timely prevention and early diagnosis of various diseases.
• Cost Savings: Catching problems early can reduce the need for expensive treatments down the line.
• Stronger Doctor-Patient Relationship: Regular appointments foster trust and open communication with your primary care physician.
• Health Education: Your provider can offer personalized advice to help you make lifestyle changes for a healthier, longer life.

What Must You Include In Your Checkup?

For everyone alike, your medical checkup must include your medical history, family history, and medication list, if you are already on medications or have any allergies and your vaccination status.

What Should You Get Screened For As Per Your Gender?

For men and women alike, these are the following screenings:

• high blood pressure
• obesity
• tobacco use
• alcohol and drug misuse
• depression
• HIV screening
• hepatitis C
• type 2 diabetes
• colorectal cancer
• lung cancer

These are the following screening done solely for women:

• mammogram for breast cancer, especially for women above the age of 45
• intimate partner violence screening
• Pap smear test for cervical cancer between ages 21 to 65
• osteoporosis screening

These are the following screening done solely for men:

• abdominal aortic aneurysm screening
• a prostrate exam