Study: Smoking poses greater heart disease danger for women

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Women who smoke have heart attacks at younger ages and are more likely than men to suffer complications months after a cardiac event, according to a new University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study released Tuesday.



Although fewer women than men smoke in the United States, the gender gap is decreasing and the U-M findings suggested the toll of smoking is greater on women’s health.



“Smoking is not good for men or women but our analysis shows that women who smoke do worse six months after a heart attack than men,” stated senior study author Elizabeth Jackson, cardiologist at the U-M Cardiovascular Center. “We were not able to look at the basic biological mechanisms that would account for this, but other studies can give us some ideas."



Smoking reduces circulation by narrowing the blood vessels and contributes to an atherosclerotic build-up of plaque in the arteries. Cigarette smokers are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease than nonsmokers.



“The differences in outcomes among women smokers may reflect inherent biological differences between genders, or possibly less aggressive medical management of women that’s been described by other investigators,” stated lead author Michael Howe, cardiology fellow at the U-M Health System. “Either way, it clearly emphasizes the need for increased physician awareness and vigilance, in women in particular, after an acute coronary event.”



The good news is that when you stop smoking, your risk of heart disease and stroke can be cut in half just one year later, and continues to decline until it's as low as a nonsmoker's risk, according to the American Heart Association.

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