Men over 6 ft are 24% less likely to develop heart failure

Scientists claim that tall men are 24% less at risk of heart problems, besides other advantages.

Harvard researchers have found that those who are more than 6ft are 24% less likely to suffer from heart failure than men just a few inches smaller.

Scientists looked at the records of 22,000 male doctors in their mid-fifties who were subsequently followed over a 22-year period.

They each filled in an initial questionnaire on their height, weight and general health and then every year subsequently filled in surveys about any new medical diagnoses.

The study, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, found that 1,444 men developed heart failure which was about 7% of the total.

Men who were 6 ft (1.8 meters) or over  were 24% less likely to report having heart failure than those who were 5ft 8 (1.72 meters) or smaller.

This was after their age and weight, as well as whether they had high blood pressure and diabetes, had all been taken into account.

The scientists think that one reason is that shorter men may have had childhood diseases that stunted their growth. In adulthood this could have led to the build-up of plaque in their arteries and higher blood pressure.

But they also think that the biology of taller men may put them at less risk.

Scientists say that there is greater distance between certain points in tall men’s arteries and their hearts which puts the heart under less strain.

Jeffrey Teuteberg, a cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who was not involved in the study said: “As much as we know about the development of very common diseases like heart failure, there’s still a lot we don’t know.

“There’s still a lot more that impacts the development of those diseases beyond those things.

“The message certainly shouldn’t be: <<If you’re tall, don’t worry about these sorts of things, or if you’re short, you’re doomed.>>”

Heart failure affects occurs when the heart are too weak to properly pump blood around the body and can be caused by heart attacks, which cause the organ to weaken.