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[Adverse cardiac effects of smoking]
1I. Medizinischen Abteilung, Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Spitals der Stadt Wien.
Insights
Cigarette smoking significantly increases cardiovascular disease risk, including heart attack and stroke. Quitting smoking is essential for reducing these risks and improving cardiovascular health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Public Health
- Toxicology
Background:
- Cigarette smoking is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
- Both active and passive smoking contribute to atherosclerotic risk.
- Smoking exacerbates risks in individuals with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the cardiovascular risks associated with cigarette smoking.
- To elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms linking smoking to cardiovascular events.
- To emphasize the importance of smoking cessation in cardiovascular prevention.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on smoking and cardiovascular disease.
- Analysis of pathophysiological effects of nicotine and carbon monoxide.
- Examination of smoking's impact on risk factors and therapeutic interventions.
Main Results:
- Smoking is linked to coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease.
- Cardiovascular risk increases with daily cigarette consumption and specific smoking behaviors.
- Smoking potentiates risks, especially when combined with oral contraceptives in women under 50.
- Nicotine and carbon monoxide negatively affect hemodynamics, lipids, and hemorheology.
- Smoking can diminish the effectiveness of cardiovascular disease treatments.
Conclusions:
- Smoking cessation is crucial for primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention.
- Understanding the complex pathophysiological mechanisms reinforces the need for cessation programs.
- Public health initiatives must prioritize smoking cessation to mitigate cardiovascular burden.
Abstract:
Cigarette smoking is a main risk-factor for enhanced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Some studies have even suggested that unvoluntary smoking increases the atherosclerotic risk. Smoking related cardiovascular diseases include coronary heart disease, acute myocardial infarction, sudden death, stroke, aortic aneurysm, atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease. Risk is potentiated in patients with other coronary risk-factors i.e. hypertension and/or hypercholesterolemia. It is also proportionately related to the number of cigarettes smoked daily and smoking behavior. Combination of cigarette smoking and oral contraceptive use is the major cause of coronary events in female smokers under 50 years. Risk will be reduced only be smoking cessation. Underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms are complex; nicotine- and carbon-monoxide induced deleterious effects will be found on hemodynamic parameters, lipid status and hemorheology. Although clinical events due to acute coronary thrombosis and vasoconstriction are more often in smokers than in nonsmokers, angina pectoris is less common. Furthermore smoking diminishes beneficial effects of well established therapeutical procedures in treatment of coronary heart disease. Therefore, smoking cessation therapy should be a major goal for primary and secondary prevention programs as well.