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Journalism of Courage
For somebody who is in and out of interventionist procedures through the day, cardiologist Dr Balbir Singh wished more of his young heart attack patients would take his advice and give up smoking from that point onwards. “The first heart attack is scary for all smokers. They stay away from cigarettes for a while. But the moment they feel better and resume their normal lives, they tell me they find it difficult to overcome the addiction of years and smoke once in a while to wean themselves off the habit. Yet when it comes to heart damage, zero cigarettes is a non-negotiable mantra. That’s because the effects of long-time smoking can take up to 20 years to be cleaned. And even a smoke a day can only elevate your cumulative risk,” warns the chairman of cardiac sciences at Max Healthcare.
A similar red flag has now been raised in a new study which says that smoking even two to five cigarettes a day can more than double your risk of any type of heart disease and raise your risk of death from any cause by 60% compared to people who have never smoked. The research was supported by the American Heart Association’s Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science and published in PLOS Medicine. The study found that even after you stop smoking, it could take up to 30 years or more to achieve the same level of health as someone who had never smoked.
The study is representative as it tracked over 3,20,000 adults in the US for 20 years. “As smoking patterns shift with more people smoking fewer cigarettes, it’s important to understand the cardiovascular risks of low-intensity smoking and the long-term benefits of quitting,” said study author Michael J. Blaha, lead investigator and professor of cardiology and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, US.
Compared with never-smoking, smoking 2-5 cigarettes daily was associated with a 50% higher risk of any type of cardiovascular disease and 60% increased risk of death from any cause.
Smoking 11 to 15 cigarettes a day meant an 84% higher risk of cardiovascular disease and more than twice the risk of death from all causes. Quitting smoking immediately decreases health risks and continues to substantially decrease those risks in the first 20 years. However, it may take up to 31 to 40 years of smoking abstinence for people who formerly smoked to reach the status of those individuals who have never smoked.
“There is only one message that we have been repeating for years. Stop smoking instead of limiting its use or believing in a phased withdrawal. The earlier you start, the better it is, the lower your risk of heart disease,” explains Dr Singh.
The nicotine in cigarettes is toxic for the heart as it makes the blood sticky and increases levels of clotting factors. The thick blood clots faster, can then block arteries and cause a heart attack.
“Nicotine also damages the lining of blood vessels in the heart. This leads to inflammation. A weakened lining dislodges even the smallest plaques easily, resulting in blockage in the arteries and a heart attack. Besides, nicotine also stimulates the release of the stress hormone adrenaline, causing an immediate increase in heart rate and blood pressure. This constant stress on the cardiovascular system can cause the heart to pump blood harder and wear out the lining of arteries,” says Dr Singh.
Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, forcing the heart to work harder. “The damage to the vessels can take years to repair and heal, longer to be cleaned,” he adds.
