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Home / News / Passive smokers have increased heart disease risk within 30 minutes
Passive smokers have increased heart disease risk within 30 minutes
20 May 2008 18:11:27
Trials due to be discussed at the forthcoming XVI World Congress of Cardiology have revealed that within this short space of time, passively inhaling smoke can create changes in the arteries which can increase the risk of heart failure.
In addition, it was found that people who passively smoke have a 30 per cent higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Dr Joaquin Barnoya, research director of the Cardiovascular Surgery Unit of Guatemala, said that the results are worrying because "the longer the arteries of non-smokers are exposed to tobacco smoke, the more they will behave like the arteries of smokers".
He explained: "We know that just 30 minutes' exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke is enough to produce an observable change in the arterial function of non-smokers. Passive tobacco smoke directly damages the endothelium, which is the internal wall of the arteries, responsible for their dilation and contraction."
Dr Barnoya went on to say that the findings are a fair indication that smoke-free environments are a good thing and can be linked to a decrease in heart disease in places like California.
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