Question: Does your blood type matter when it comes to heart disease? I live with my grandma, and she recently read a story about people with type AB blood (like her and me) being more at risk for heart disease. Now she’s on a new health kick (which isn’t a bad thing), but I just don’t want her getting all worked up for no reason!
Answer: People with type A, B and AB blood have a slightly higher risk of heart disease than those with type O blood, related to ease of clot formation. It’s relatively minor and dwarfed by such risk factors as smoking, out-of-control blood pressure and diabetes. Being on a health kick is fine, but she shouldn’t be overly worried about her blood type.
Blood types and their frequency
Blood type | Frequency in population | |
A+ | 34% | |
A- | 6% | |
B+ | 9% | |
B- | 1% | |
AB+ | 3% | |
AB- | 1% | |
O+ | 38% | |
O- | 7% |
Source: American Red Cross