For Immediate Release:
February 15, 2007

Contact:
Nanci Gonder
Office of Public Information
573-751-6062

Secondhand smoke harms heart as well as lungs
February is American Heart Month

Secondhand smoke is not just dangerous for the lungs. It’s bad for the heart, too.

February is American Heart Month, and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is encouraging Missourians to avoid secondhand smoke to help keep their hearts healthy.
 
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work have a 25 to 30 percent greater risk of developing heart disease.
 
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Missouri, where more than 24 percent of adults smoke. Nearly half of all nonsmoking adults are exposed to secondhand smoke on a regular basis.
 
“It is vital for people to know that secondhand smoke can seriously damage their heart,” said Stan Cowan, manager of the health department’s tobacco use prevention program. “Secondhand smoke causes a great deal of disability and death every year.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that secondhand smoke was responsible for the death of about 46,000 nonsmokers due to heart disease nationwide in 2005.

Exposure to secondhand smoke for even a short time has an immediate effect on the cardiovascular system and interferes with the normal functioning of the heart, blood and vascular systems, increasing the risk of a heart attack.

“It doesn’t take much and it doesn’t take long to cause harm,” the Surgeon General stated.

The CDC has advised physicians that exposure to secondhand smoke can pose acute risks and to counsel their patients with heart disease to avoid all indoor environments where smoking is permitted.

Eliminating tobacco smoke indoors is the only way to fully protect people from the health risks, according to the Surgeon General. Separate smoking and nonsmoking sections, air cleaners and filters, and ventilation systems cannot effectively prevent nonsmokers from being exposed to secondhand smoke.

With the implementation of a statewide smoke-free workplace law in Nevada last December, more than half of the U.S. population now reside in areas with legislation to protect employees and the public from secondhand smoke. Less than two percent of Missourians live in communities with such protection. Cowan said several recent studies show smoke-free policies in public places and the workplace could help reduce heart disease.

• Helena, Mont., saw a 40 percent decrease in the number of people admitted to the city’s hospital for heart attacks after the city passed a smoke-free workplace ordinance in 2002.
•  A three-year study in Pueblo, Colo., showed a 27 percent decrease in hospitalizations from heart attacks after the city enacted a smoke-free ordinance in 2003. The study compared hospital admissions for one and a half years before and one and a half years after the implementation of the ordinance, which banned smoking in all buildings open to the public.

“Secondhand smoke creates a major health hazard for people at home, work and other public places,” Cowan said. “Smoke-free policies are the only real way people can truly be protected from heart disease and other serious health conditions caused by tobacco smoke.”

The state health department promotes American Heart Month to educate Missourians about preventing heart disease and encourage them to learn more about their own risk for developing the disease.

While some risk factors for heart disease – age, gender, race, ethnicity and medical history – cannot be controlled, a number of risk factors can.
 
To prevent heart disease, Missourians should:

• Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke
• Participate in physical activity for 30 minutes a day
• Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and foods that are low in saturated fat
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Get regular check-ups and know important health-related numbers including blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels

More information about heart disease in Missouri can be found at: www.dhss.mo.gov/HeartDisease/.
More information about tobacco use and secondhand smoke in Missouri can be found at: www.dhss.mo.gov/SmokingAndTobacco/.