In a study from Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, scientists found smokers have weaker hearts than non-smokers.
It means that smokers have a smaller volume of blood in the left heart chamber and less power to pump it out to the rest of the body.
The team found that the more people smoked, the worse their heart function became. Some function was restored when people kicked the habit.
Cigarette smoking is responsible for 50% of all avoidable deaths in smokers, with half of these due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke.
The detrimental effects of smoking on the arteries and arterial diseases such as heart attack and stroke are well established.
Studies have also shown that smoking is associated with a higher risk of heart failure, where the heart muscle does not pump blood around the body as well as it should, usually because it is too weak or stiff.
This means that the body does not receive the oxygen and nutrients it needs to work normally. The link between smoking and heart structure and function has not been fully examined.
In the study, the team explored whether smoking was related to changes in the structure and function of the heart in people without heart disease, and the effect of changing smoking habits.
A total of 3,874 participants aged 20 to 99 years without heart disease were enrolled.
The average age of participants was 56 years and 43% were women. Nearly one in five participants were current smokers (18.6%), while 40.9% were former smokers and 40.5% had never smoked.
The team found that compared to never smokers, current smokers had thicker, weaker and heavier hearts. Increasing pack years were associated with pumping less blood.
The team found that current smoking and accumulated pack years were associated with worsening of the structure and function of the left heart chamber—the most important part of the heart.
Furthermore, over a 10-year period, those who continued smoking developed thicker, heavier and weaker hearts that were less able to pump blood compared to never smokers and those who quit during that time.
This study indicates that smoking not only damages the blood vessels but also directly harms the heart. The good news is that some of the damage is reversible by giving up.
If you care about smoking, please read studies about how to quit smoking, and this anti-smoking drug may treat Parkinson’s disease.
For more information about smoking, please see recent studies about why most smokers don’t get lung cancer, and results showing red wine may protect vascular health in smokers.
The study was conducted by Dr. Eva Holt et al and presented at ESC Congress 2022.
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