"My Father Had This Earlobe Crease Too"... Was Kim Suyong's Collapse an Early Sign of 'Frank's Sign'?

Diagonal Crease Spotted on Kim Suyong's Earlobe
Online Claims Link 'Frank's Sign' to Cardiovascular Disease

Comedian Kim Suyong (59) reportedly lost consciousness and collapsed during filming and is currently recovering in the hospital. There have been claims that the diagonal wrinkle on his earlobe could be an early warning sign of a health issue. Specifically, it is suggested that this wrinkle may be related to cardiovascular disease and could be a sign known as "Frank's sign."

Comedian Kim Suyong (59) collapsed during filming, and there has been speculation that the wrinkles on his earlobe could be a sign of Frank's sign. Kim Suyong Instagram

On November 16, a post appeared on an online community stating, "This is Kim Suyong appearing on YouTube a few days ago. If you have a deep diagonal wrinkle in the same spot on your earlobe as shown in the photo, there is a high probability of having a cardiovascular or cerebrovascular problem. This is called 'Frank's sign.'"

Previously, on November 13, Kim Suyong collapsed while filming YouTube content in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, and was transported to a nearby hospital emergency room. Fortunately, Kim Suyong regained consciousness and the ability to breathe, and he is now being treated in the intensive care unit after initial emergency care. His agency, Media Lab Seesaw, stated, "Kim Suyong fortunately recovered consciousness during emergency treatment and is able to communicate," adding, "He will focus on treatment and recovery for the time being." However, the agency did not comment on the cause of his collapse.

The author of the post added, "My father also felt chest discomfort and showed Frank's sign, so he went to the hospital, where he was immediately diagnosed with a blocked heart vessel and received a stent procedure that same day," urging, "Everyone should check themselves or those around them at least once."

Example of diagonal wrinkles appearing on the earlobe. Research paper by Professor Jin Mun-nyeon’s team from the Department of Cardiology, Ewha Mokdong Hospital.

Frank's sign refers to a diagonal wrinkle at a 45-degree angle on the lower part of the earlobe, which is claimed to be associated with cardiovascular disease. Dr. Sanders T. Frank, an American physician, first described this phenomenon in 1973 after observing 20 patients with angina pectoris, reporting that people with a diagonal earlobe crease had a higher risk of developing heart disease than those without it.

The relationship between heart disease and Frank's sign has not yet been clearly established. However, it is known that earlobe creases appear when the elastic fibers that support the skin and blood vessels decrease. This reduction in elastic fibers is believed to be related to vascular aging, decreased cardiovascular function, and increased risk of coronary artery disease, among other conditions.

The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the United States reported in a 2012 paper that people with many wrinkles on their earlobes have a higher risk of heart disease than those without. A Mexican research team also published a paper in December 2023, stating that among 311 people under the age of 65 who underwent coronary angiography due to heart health problems, 62% had earlobe creases.

In the same year, a study published in an American medical journal surveyed 1,050 adults and found that the longer and deeper the diagonal earlobe crease, and if it appeared on both earlobes with multiple fine wrinkles around it, the risk of cardiovascular disease was even higher.

In Korea, research has shown that careful observation of diagonal earlobe creases can help detect atrial fibrillation early in people with coronary artery disease. Last year, Professor Jin Mun-nyeon’s team from the Department of Cardiology at Ewha Mokdong Hospital published a paper in the international journal Journal of Clinical Medicine, estimating that patients with coronary artery disease who have earlobe creases have a 1.88 times higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation compared to those without such creases.