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Case Reports
. 2018 Jan 17;10(1):e2080.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.2080.

A Myth Still Needs to be Clarified: A Case Report of the Frank's Sign

Aung Naing Lin  1 , Kyawzaw Lin  2 , Htoo Kyaw  3 , Joseph Abboud  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Myth Still Needs to be Clarified: A Case Report of the Frank's Sign

Aung Naing Lin et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Despite advancements in diagnostic tools, physical signs such as xanthelasmata, arcus corneae, facial wrinkles, and gray hair are useful indicators of underlying diseases. The presence of bilateral diagonal earlobe creases (DELCs), also known as Frank's sign, correlates with a myriad of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease. The use of Frank's sign as a bedside predictor of underlying coronary artery disease is controversial among clinicians. We report a case of a patient with bilateral DELCs found to have significant coronary artery disease during diagnostic coronary angiography for recurrent chest pain.

Keywords: bilateral diagonal ear lobe creases; cardiology; coronary heart disease; frank's sign.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Typical bilateral diagonal earlobe creases (the Frank’s sign) (arrows)
Figure 2
Figure 2. Right coronary artery multilevel narrowing (black arrows) during diagnostic angiography
Figure 3
Figure 3. Right coronary artery angiogram after angioplasty and drug-eluting stents placement in the same patient
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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