Secondhand Smoke Hurts Heart Like Smoking
Secondhand Smoke Hurts Heart Like Smoking
May 23, 2005 -- The heart just doesn't like smoking, no matter who's doing it.
That's the take-home message of a review of research about secondhand smoke's cardiac toll. The report -- published in Circulation -- documents a long list of heart hazards from secondhand smoke.
Wisp for wisp, secondhand smoke's heart damage often rivals that of active smoking, and even a little exposure may have an impact, says the review by Joaquin Barnoya, MD, MPH, and colleagues.
Secondhand smoke's heart effects are "rapid and large," like those of air pollution, say Barnoya and colleagues. How large? On average, the heart effects of even brief secondhand smoke exposure are about 80% to 90% as large as that from chronic active smoking, they say.
Smokers' hearts bear the biggest burden. They are exposed to more toxins from smoking than people who only get secondhand smoke. But that doesn't appear to make much difference to the heart, says the review.
Passive smoke has a much larger effect on the heart than would be expected from a comparison of the dose of toxins, they write.
Despite the fact that the dose of smoke delivered to active smokers is 100 times or more than that delivered to a passive smoker, the risk of heart disease for smokers is more than two-thirds higher compared with a third higher for passive smokers, says the review.
The cardiovascular system may be "exquisitely sensitive to the toxins in secondhand smoke," write the researchers.
That's the take-home message of a review of research about secondhand smoke's cardiac toll. The report -- published in Circulation -- documents a long list of heart hazards from secondhand smoke.
Wisp for wisp, secondhand smoke's heart damage often rivals that of active smoking, and even a little exposure may have an impact, says the review by Joaquin Barnoya, MD, MPH, and colleagues.
Secondhand smoke's heart effects are "rapid and large," like those of air pollution, say Barnoya and colleagues. How large? On average, the heart effects of even brief secondhand smoke exposure are about 80% to 90% as large as that from chronic active smoking, they say.
An 'Exquisitely Sensitive' Heart
Smokers' hearts bear the biggest burden. They are exposed to more toxins from smoking than people who only get secondhand smoke. But that doesn't appear to make much difference to the heart, says the review.
Passive smoke has a much larger effect on the heart than would be expected from a comparison of the dose of toxins, they write.
Despite the fact that the dose of smoke delivered to active smokers is 100 times or more than that delivered to a passive smoker, the risk of heart disease for smokers is more than two-thirds higher compared with a third higher for passive smokers, says the review.
The cardiovascular system may be "exquisitely sensitive to the toxins in secondhand smoke," write the researchers.
