A doctor’s observations of an otherwise insignificant physical feature on David Beckham heralded an ominous health warning for the legendary English footballer.
On the athlete’s right earlobe is a diagonal wrinkle better known as a Frank’s Crease.
This feature, according to various studies, hints at atherosclerosis, a condition in which the host’s blood vessels are lined with fatty matter.
Without the means of reaching out to the celeb, Lithuanian cardiologist Rokas Šerpytis simply did a Google search and found that life-threatening cardiac events run in the Beckham family.
Cardiologist Rokas Šerpytis realized that his concerns had at least some merit when he learned David Beckham’s father suffered a cardiac event
Image credits: Getty / Karwai Tang
“I’m not going to call D. Beckham and ask if he’s had tests. But you could look at his parents,” said Šerpytis.
“I typed ‘heart attack’ and ‘Beckham’s dad’ into the search engine and got an article: the footballer is traveling to England to visit his 59-year-old father in the hospital after a heart attack.”
When he performed his search, he discovered that on September 26, 2007, at 9:20 pm in a northeastern suburb of London, Ted Beckham was rushed to the hospital.
Around the time, People reported an insider saying that the then 59-year-old underwent an operation to unblock his arteries and that following the procedure, his medical state was described as “stable”.
Šerpytis’s observations are based on a 1973 study
Image credits: Unsplash+
The anomaly, also known as diagonal earlobe crease (DELC), that put Šerpytis onto this investigation was a diagonal “wrinkle” on Beckham’s right earlobe, which he described as “quite pronounced” on the now 49-year-old.
Šerpytis’ observations are based on a 1973 study by Dr Sanders T. Frank that comprised 20 patients.
While Frank’s sign tends to be a clue, academic institutions are warning that it is not entirely accurate
Image credits: Unsplash+
Frank’s findings have since led to broader and deeper examinations, and a 2021 Oxford study described DELC as a “dermatological marker for coronary artery disease” and “useful clinical sign” for the latter.
In the 2021 paper, the learning institute described the dermal marker as a crease that “extends backwards from the tragus (the pointed piece of cartilage located at the front of the ear canal) at an angle of 45 degree across the lobule to the ear edge of the auricle (the entire visible ear).”
But “it does not provide a conclusive relationship,” the university’s medical paper warned.
“Its reliability as a diagnostic marker remains uncertain, and clinicians have not incorporated it into routine examinations,” observed another study published by the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine.
Chief cardiologist at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, Dr Paul D. Thompson says he has never used Frank’s Sign in his work
Frank’s sign : diagonal crease of the ear lobe
Strongly been associated with coronary artery atherosclerosis 🚨🚨🚨#Usmle #DrSam👩🏼⚕️🩺 #medtwitter #match2024 #match2023 pic.twitter.com/F306ZUjS8l
— DrSamShuaibi (@drsamshuaibi) September 3, 2023
For professionals like Chief Cardiologist-Emeritus at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, Dr Paul D. Thompson, the dermal anomaly bears no meaning at all.
Speaking exclusively to Bored Panda, the doctor who publishes under 500 Rules of Cardiology on Substack observed that the topic was touched in medical school between 1973 and 1975.
Since then it has made irregular appearances in the spotlight.
“I don’t think serious preventive cardiologists give it much credence,” he elaborated. “I don’t.”
“I don’t look for it, don’t write about it in my patient notes, etc. There are much better measurements including the standard,” when seeking out heart problems.
The expert says there are much easier ways to track down heart problems
Image credits: Getty / Karwai Tang
Said standard could involve a study of patients’ genealogy for heart problems, the use of a stethoscope to check for heart murmurs, measurements of height, weight and blood pressure along with, examination of exercise habits and blood tests.
Also employed in the detection are electrocardiograms which measure the heart’s electrical signals and echocardiograms which are ultrasounds that use sound waves to create images of the heart and its movements.
Exercise stress tests and X-rays may also be deployed in an attempt to make a diagnosis.
Image credits: TIME100
Dr. Thompson, based on his experience in the field, can make no connection between Frank’s sign and heart issues.
“I also cannot make up a good physiological reason why it would have medical significance. Could be wrong, but you asked for my thoughts,” he writes.
Stanford Medicine tells its medical professionals to pay attention to their patients’ ears
Image credits: Unsplash / Stephen Andrews
Expanding on these disclaimers, Stanford Medicine published a study in 2015 and wrote:
“It is more often present in patients presenting to cardiology service who have had previous coronary bypass surgery.
Just look at your patient’s ears next time you are on a cardiology ward!” instructed medical professionals.
Beckham is at an age where he should take precautions, says Šerpytis
Image credits: Instagram / davidbeckham
Beckham, now fifty, fits neatly between two major statistical categories as far as a Springer study of DELC is concerned.
Twenty percent of people under the age of 40 have been observed to have the earlobe feature, while among those over 60, a tally found that 75 percent of individuals had the crease.
As a nod to Oxford and Stanford’s disclaimers, the CDC reported around the same time that only 10 percent of people in the same age bracket (60-plus) had heart disease.
According to Dr. Šerpytis, however, David Beckham would do well keep an eye on his heart health at his current age
Image credits: Instagram / davidbeckham
@healingwithlana Listen to Your Ears: Unveiling Heart Health Clues ❤️👂 That ear crease might hold a hidden message about your heart. Frank’s sign – an intriguing link between ear creases and heart attacks. Stay proactive: Prioritize heart health, get regular check-ups. Remember, prevention is key. Explore tests like carotid artery ultrasound and heart calcium scan. Clean diet, hydration, exercise – your allies. Discover potential supplements like nattokinase. Stay informed for more vital health insights. 🩺🌿 #healthtips #nutritionist #holistichealth #naturopath #naturopathy #hearthealth #heartattack #healthyheart #healthyeating #naturalremedies #healyourself ♬ original sound – Lana, CNT, Naturopath
The internet appears to be well aware of Frank’s sign, with various people posting their concerns, especially on Reddit.
In response, the general sentiment appears to run along the lines of: “It’s not a myth but it’s also clinically irrelevant. Both can be true.”
Either way, Šerpytis warns, “David himself is now 50 years old, a time when it would be very useful to take care of his health and adjust risk factors,” per Lrytas.
Netizen accounts also suggest that Frank’s Sign is bullet proof indication
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