Smoking Inflates HF Risk in Black Patients
Cigarette smoking is a key risk factor for left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, systolic dysfunction, and hospitalization for heart failure (HF) in black patients, according to new research.
These findings emerged from an analysis of 4129 black participants enrolled in the Jackson Heart Study. All participants were free of HF and coronary heart disease at baseline. A total of 2884 participants were never smokers, 503 were current smokers, and 742 were former smokers. Median follow-up lasted 8 years.
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Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess the relationship between cigarette smoking and LV structure and function in 1092 participants.
In addition, the associations of cigarette smoking with brain natriuretic peptide levels and incident HF hospitalization were explored in 3325 participants and 3633 participants, respectively.
Following adjustment, results of the study indicated that current smoking was tied to higher mean LV index and lower mean LV circumferential strain compared with never smoking. Factors such as smoking status, intensity, and burden were associated with higher mean brain natriuretic peptide levels.
Furthermore, among 147 incident HF hospitalizations that occurred over follow-up, the researchers found that current smoking (hazard ratio (HR) 2.82), smoking intensity among current smokers (HR 3.48 for smoking at least 20 cigarettes per day), and smoking burden among ever smokers (HR 2.06 for at least 15 pack-years) were significantly associated with incident HF hospitalization compared with never smoking.
“In blacks, cigarette smoking is an important risk factor for LV hypertrophy, systolic dysfunction, and incident HF hospitalization even after adjusting for effects on coronary heart disease,” the researchers concluded.
—Christina Vogt
Reference:
Kamimura D, Cain LR, Mentz RJ, et al. Cigarette smoking and incident heart failure: insights from the Jackson Heart Study. Circulation. 2018;137(15). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.031912.
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