Smoking may lead to heart failure by thickening the heart wall

https://s.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-09/aha-sml090816.php

Public Release: 13-Sep-2016
Smoking may lead to heart failure by thickening the heart wall
Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging Journal Report
American Heart Association

Smoking is associated with thicker heart walls and reduction in the heart's pumping ability, two factors associated with increased risk of heart failure, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging.

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"In addition, the more people smoke, the greater the damage to the heart's structure and function, which reinforces the recommendations stating that smoking is dangerous and should be stopped."

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"The good news is that former smokers had similar heart structure and function compared with never smokers," said Scott Solomon, M.D., senior study author and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. "This suggests that the potential effects of tobacco on the myocardium might be reversible after smoking cessation."