Smoking increases the risk of heart attack by three times

(Photo: news-medical)

Researchers from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said smokers are three times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers.

The team studied 40,000 people aged 40 to 59 years in 11 years. The investigation was led by Shoichiro Tsugane, head of the Epidemiology and Prevention Division of the Japan National Cancer Center.

Research results show that smoking men have a rate of 3.6 times higher than that of non-smokers. This rate in women is 2.9 times.

The more people smoke, the greater the risk of heart attack. For men, smoking 1 to 14 cigarettes a day is 3.2 times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers; 15–34 cigarettes daily smoking: risk of heart attack 3.6 times; and smoke every day more than 34 cigarettes: the risk of heart attack is 4.4 times.

However, the risk of myocardial infarction and angina falls sharply within 2 years after the patient quits.

Minh Thuong