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Action on Smoking and Health
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By WebMD [08/30/04]
Heart researchers say nine risk factors -- ones that you can do something about -- account for 90% of all heart attacks.
Previously, researchers thought that only about half of heart attacks were explained by risk factors such as smoking or cholesterol. But now they say that the cause of almost all heart attacks can be pinpointed to one or more of the following:
These risk factors are equal-opportunity killers -- black or white, Asian or American, young or old, man or woman -- all can fall victim by these same risks. Diet, exercise, and moderate consumption of alcohol can decrease risk of heart disease, but cannot reverse the potential danger posed by risks such as high cholesterol or smoking, says Salim Yusuf, MD, who led the study.
The study included nearly 30,000 people -- half were first heart attack survivors and half were healthy volunteers of similar age, race, and gender to the heart attack patients. Since the study was conducted in 52 countries located on every populated continent, Yusuf tells WebMD that it is now possible to say that "the same risk factor that causes a heart attack in a white European will cause a heart attack in an Asian."
Heart Attack Risk Rises With One Cigarette
Second on the nine-item list is smoking which was associated with a 36% increased risk of heart attack. And Yusuf warns that risk increases with the first cigarette: smoking one to five cigarettes a day increases heart attack risk by 40% compared with nonsmokers. Smoking 20 cigarettes a day (one pack) is associated with a fourfold increased risk of heart attack and smoking two or more packs a day "is associated with a ninefold increased risk," he says.
Moreover, while a daily low-dose aspirin can protect the heart, "smoking three cigarettes can wipe out the protective effect of aspirin and wipe out two-thirds of the protective effect of [cholesterol-lowering drugs]," he says.
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