By comparing heart scans of smokers and non-smokers, Danish researchers have found that the effects of tobacco may be worse than previously thought.
It’s no secret that smoking has a very negative effect on the state of the heart of those who have this habit. To the point that the World Health Organization (WHO) blames it for 8 million deaths worldwide each year. However, according to a study relayed by the site Futura-Sciences.comthe impact of tobacco use might be even more severe than previously thought.
A group of Danish researchers has indeed produced a study which will be presented during the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology, in Barcelona, in which they compared heart ultrasounds of smokers and non-smokers. And the results are worrying. “We found that current smoking and the accumulation of pack-years [soit le nombre de cigarettes fumées au cours d’une vie] were associated with deterioration in the structure and function of the left cardiac chamber, the most important part of the heart”, detailed Dr. Holt, who led the study.
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A thicker and weaker heart
In addition to cardiovascular diseases, already well identified by science, this new research reveals that smoking modifies the structure of the heart as well as its functioning. “Additionally, we found that over a 10-year period, people who continued to smoke developed a thicker, heavier and weaker heart – less able to pump blood – compared to people who never smoked. smoked and to those who quit smoking during this period”, explains Doctor Hold regarding the work of his team. If you were still looking for a reason to quit smoking, you are served. And for good reason, no sports practice or breathing exercise can compensate for the transformations of this fundamental organ due to smoking.
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