That smoking increases the chances of suffering from heart failure is a well-known thing, but doctors did not know exactly what was the modus operandi of cigarettes to lead to this disorder. Until now, because according to a new study published in the specialized journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging , what the unhealthy smoke does is thicken the walls of the heart and hinder its pumping work .
Led by Wilson Nadruz Jr. of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, the researchers drew this conclusion after examining the myocardial status of 4,580 apparently healthy elderly people , with an average age of more than 75 years, using echocardiograms (ultrasound analysis). .
The results indicated that, once other factors were ruled out, the smokers did indeed have thicker heart walls – and a lower pumping function – compared to the rest of the people in the study.
The good news, the researchers emphasize, is that the ex-smokers had regained the normal thickness of their vital organ. Or put another way, that the deterioration potentially caused by tobacco in the walls of the heart is reversible. It is never too late to quit.
Photo: Stash Svechnikov
