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For decades, doctors have been happy to rid you of your tonsils and appendix, those seemingly useless organs we’re only too eager to cast off at the first sign of trouble.
But there’s a big downside, new research suggests: Removing your tonsils and appendix before your 20th birthday puts you at greater risk for premature heart trouble, according to a new study from a group of researchers in the U.S. and Scandinavia.
Researchers followed every Swedish resident who had their tonsils or appendix removed—more than 80,000 procedures in total—for an average of 23.5 years. (Bonus of socialized medicine: A mountain of data to mine.)
People who had their tonsils removed before age 20 were 44 percent more likely to have a heart attack compared to people who didn’t have the operation. An appendectomy before age 20 increased the risk by 33 percent.
Wait—aren’t these both completely useless organs? Not quite. Removing them can decrease your body’s production of immunoglobulins—antibodies that search for and destroy harmful bacteria and viruses. These harmful bugs can trigger inflammation—which is believed to play a role in heart health, write the study authors.
Don’t freak out just yet. The total number of premature heart attacks in the study was extremely low, even among the group that had the operations. There were only 633 heart attacks among more than 54,000 appendix procedures and 27,000 tonsil removals.
People who had these surgeries after age 20 didn’t see any increased heart risks. That’s because the organs play the biggest role in your immune system during your adolescent and teen years, the researchers explain.
However, the data doesn’t go far back enough to see what the risk might be for older adults, who are more likely to have heart attacks.
But there’s a big downside, new research suggests: Removing your tonsils and appendix before your 20th birthday puts you at greater risk for premature heart trouble, according to a new study from a group of researchers in the U.S. and Scandinavia.
Researchers followed every Swedish resident who had their tonsils or appendix removed—more than 80,000 procedures in total—for an average of 23.5 years. (Bonus of socialized medicine: A mountain of data to mine.)
People who had their tonsils removed before age 20 were 44 percent more likely to have a heart attack compared to people who didn’t have the operation. An appendectomy before age 20 increased the risk by 33 percent.
Wait—aren’t these both completely useless organs? Not quite. Removing them can decrease your body’s production of immunoglobulins—antibodies that search for and destroy harmful bacteria and viruses. These harmful bugs can trigger inflammation—which is believed to play a role in heart health, write the study authors.
Don’t freak out just yet. The total number of premature heart attacks in the study was extremely low, even among the group that had the operations. There were only 633 heart attacks among more than 54,000 appendix procedures and 27,000 tonsil removals.
People who had these surgeries after age 20 didn’t see any increased heart risks. That’s because the organs play the biggest role in your immune system during your adolescent and teen years, the researchers explain.
However, the data doesn’t go far back enough to see what the risk might be for older adults, who are more likely to have heart attacks.
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