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One cig puts young at great risk

ONE cigarette can put young people at greater risk of a heart attack or stroke, a study has warned.
It increases the stiffness of the arteries in 18 to 30-year-olds by an alarming 25 per cent — increasing resistance in the blood vessels and making the heart work faster.

Leading medic Dr Stella Daskalopoulou claimed smoking just a few sneaky cigarettes could have a significant impact on the heart.

The doctor, a vascular medicine specialist at McGill University Health Centre in Edmonton, Canada, said: “Our results are significant because they suggest smoking just a few cigarettes a day impacts the health of the arteries.

Stress

“This was revealed very clearly when these young people were placed under physical stress, such as exercise.”

A medical team compared the arterial stiffness of young smokers who consumed five to six cigarettes a day to non-smokers.

The participants’ average age was 21 and arterial measurements were taken in the radial artery in the wrist, the carotid artery in the neck and in the femoral artery in the groin both at rest and after exercise.

An initial arterial stress test was carried out to establish a baseline measurement for both the non-smokers and the smokers, who were asked not to smoke for 12 hours prior to the test.

After the first meeting, smokers returned and smoked one cigarette each and then repeated the stress test.

During the final meeting, smokers were asked to chew a piece of nicotine gum prior to the stress test.

Dr Daskalopoulou found after exercise the arterial stiffness levels in non-smokers dropped by 3.6 per cent.

Smokers, however, showed the reverse. After exercise their arterial stiffness increased by 2.2 per cent. After nicotine gum, it increased by 12.6 per cent. After one cigarette, it increased by 24.5 per cent.

Interestingly, there was no difference in the arterial stiffness measurements between smokers and non-smokers at rest.

Dr Daskalopoulou said: “In effect, this means that even light smoking in otherwise young healthy people can damage the arteries, compromising the ability of their bodies to cope with physical stress, such as climbing a set of stairs or running to catch a bus.

“It seems that this compromise to respond to physical stress occurs first before the damage of the arteries becomes evident at rest.”

Smoking contributes to the build up of plaque in the arteries, increases the risk of blood clots, reduces the oxygen in the blood, increases blood pressure, and makes the heart work harder. ”

Amanda Sqandford, of anti-smoking campaigners ASH, said: “This study adds to the growing body of evidence showing there is no safe level of smoking.

“Young adult smokers who say they smoke only ‘socially’ or ‘occasionally’ in the belief it is not doing them much harm should think again.

“Every single cigarette smoked adversely affects the heart and increases the chances of a fatal heart attack even among relatively young smokers.”