One blood type has lowest risk of heart attacks and blood clots
It's good news if this is your blood type
Knowing your blood type can be beneficial for a number of reasons, including receiving the best transfusion for you, but it can also help you to protect your health.
If you don't know what type you are, you can ask at your next blood test or when you go to donate blood, as one lucky group is at a lower risk of blood clots and heart attacks and even some cancers.
There are four different blood types, which are A, B, AB, and O.
Each of these groups are then split further into positive or negative types, so A-positive is different from A-negative, and so on.
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The negative or positive refers to whether your blood carries the rhesus protein, often referred to as the Rh protein.
Most people are positive blood types, but that doesn't mean it's bad to be negative.
Rh-negative individuals can develop antibodies if accidentally given Rh-positive blood, especially during pregnancy.
Lowest risk of blood clots
According to Northwestern Medicine, it turns out that Type O, both positive and negative are at the lowest risk of heart attacks and clotting.
It's believed this is because people with the other blood types have higher levels of clotting factors in their blood.
These are proteins that cause blood to coagulate - in other words, thicken and go solid, which can cause clots.
Therefore, those of us with Type A, B and AB blood should be trying to lead a lifestyle which is good for the heart.
Lower risk of some cancers
Unfortunately, it has also been found that these types are at a higher risk of developing stomach cancer, while lucky Type O is at a lessened risk again.
The O blood type also has a reduced risk of various colorectal cancers.
During the pandemic, it was found that Type A were at higher risk of suffering badly if they contracted covid.
Dr Sanjay Aggarwal is a general physician at Holistic Healthcare Centre in Delhi.
He clarified that "It may be more accurate to say people with type O blood are at a lower risk for pancreatic cancer, given the work researchers are doing on bacterial infection."
Happy days if you're Type O, either positive or negative.
UK blood type break down
According to the NHS Donate Blood website, these are the averages for each blood type in the UK, from the most common to the rarest.
- O positive: 35% - 36%
- A positive: 28% - 30%
- O negative: 13% - 14% (Often called the "universal donor" type)
- A negative: 8%
- B positive: 8% - 10%
- B negative: 2% - 3%
- AB positive: 2%
- AB negative: 1% (Rarest)
Jen Thomas