Scientists say the number of daily bowel movements you have could indicate how likely you are to have a heart attack in the future. The link was made by researchers examining the associations of bowel movement frequency with major vascular and non-vascular diseases outside the digestive system.
They analysed data from the China Kadoorie Biobank in which participants from 10 geographically diverse areas across China were enrolled between 2004 and 2008. A total of 487,198 people who did not have cancer, heart disease or stroke and were aged between 30 and 79 took part in the study and were followed up on for an average of 10 years, the Express reported.
The findings suggested that those who had bowel movements "more than once a day" had a higher risk of ischaemic heart disease when compared with the reference group ("once a day"), wrote the researchers. Ischaemic heart disease, also known as coronary heart disease (CHD), happens when your heart's blood supply is blocked or interrupted by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries and is often a precursor to having a heart attack.
The trend was further associated with a number of other chronic complications. These include heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease (CKD).
At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest bowel movement frequency ("less than three times a week") was also linked with greater risks of CHD, major coronary events, ischaemic stroke and CKD. The link is somewhat expected as constipation, for instance, is one of the risks of cardiovascular disease, and patients with cardiovascular disease tend to be constipated.
The researchers concluded: "BMF [bowel movement frequency] was associated with future risks of multiple vascular and non-vascular diseases. The integration of BMF assessment and health counselling into primary care should be considered."
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