Even one cigarette a day doubles the risk of a heart attack
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Women who smoke even one cigarette a day are at higher risk of sudden death from a heart attack and other heart diseases compared to non-smokers.
The results of the study of scientists are presented on the pages of the scientific journal "Journal of the American Heart Association".
Canadian scientists from the University of Alberta, Edmundon, found that women smokers are in much greater danger than previously thought, even though their appearance may not give out any possible health problems.
"Heart problems can lead to a heart attack and can result in death," Rupinder Sandu, lead author of the study. "Our research suggests that smoking is the leading risk factor that provokes a sudden death from a heart attack among women. It is very important to give up this addiction before the first signs of heart problems appear. "
In the UK, almost half of the 10 million army of smokers are women. Despite the fact that the number of smokers decreased, among women this decline is less intensive.
More than a hundred thousand women took part in the study of the scientists, whose monitoring of the condition lasted for thirty years. At the beginning of the study, the age of women was 30-55 years.
Most smoking ladies admitted that they started smoking as early as their teens.
Throughout the study period, 315 sudden deaths from a heart attack were recorded, 75 of which accounted for the share of smokers. Such cases at the age of 35 years are most often due to heart diseases that are hereditary. However, in older people, the cause may be ischemic heart disease. For CHD is characterized by a partial or absolute violation of the blood supply to the myocardium, which occurs due to the lesion of the coronary arteries of the heart.
The specialists took into account all the risk factors that could become a potential threat and cause sudden death: a family history of heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Experts note that among the 315 people who died sudden death, 75 - were active smokers, 148 - smoked once in the past or abandoned recently, and 128 - never smoked.
Dr. Sandu and his team of specialists concluded that smoking women were twice as likely to die as sudden deaths than those who had never smoked. Even those who smoked from one to fourteen cigarettes every day, the state of health did not improve, and every five years of smoking only increased the threat of death from a heart attack by 8%.
"Our research confirms once again how dangerous smoking is and how important it is to get rid of dependence as early as possible. In this way, you can reduce the risk of sudden death from a heart attack. Of course, quitting smoking is not easy, but for your own health you can and try, and we hope that the results we get will be good for this push, "- the researchers comment.
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