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Study: Smoking doubles risk for AF
Chamberlain A. Heart Rhythm. 2011;doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2011.03.038.
Among participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, those who smoked were twice as likely to develop atrial fibrillation as those who did not. Although at a lesser risk, former smokers were also at an increased for developing the arrhythmia.
“AF is a serious health issue that decreases quality of life and significantly increases the risk of stroke,” Alanna M. Chamberlain, PhD, study co-author from the department of health sciences research at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said in a press release. “It is my hope that our study findings will shed more light on the impact that smoking has on CVDs, and help individuals realize they can play a role in preventing the development of AF.”
The prospective study involved individuals who were either current (n=4,005), former (n=4,950) or who had never been smokers (n=6,374). Chamberlain and colleagues examined the effect of smoking status on the risk of incident AF starting at baseline (1987-1989) and ending in December 2002.
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During follow up, they reported 876 AF events among participants. Compared with those who never smoked, current (HR=2.05; 95% CI, 1.17-2.47) and former (HR=1.32; 95% CI, 1.10-1.57) smokers had an elevated risk for incident AF. Specifically, among smokers, those who smoked the heaviest, or those smoking the equivalent of one pack a day for 40 years, had the greatest risk for incident AF (HR=2.31). However, quitting smoking did moderately reduce the risk for AF vs. those who continued (HR=0.88).
These results, according to researchers, remained consistent regardless of gender or race of the participant, as well as whether the event was AF or atrial flutter.
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