New York, April 16: Middle-aged individuals who smoke could be at far greater risk of developing heart failure than those who never smoked, or those who quit, according to new research.
Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart does not pump blood properly.
"Previous research has focused on smoking and atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, but not enough attention has been given to the other bad effects of smoking on the heart," said Michael E. Hall, a cardiologist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in the US.
The new study found that current smokers were nearly three times more likely to be hospitalised for heart failure, while current smokers who smoked a pack or more a day were over three times more likely to be hospitalised.
Current smokers's left ventricle -- the heart's main pumping chamber -- showed early signs of not working properly.
These changes in the left ventricle's structure and function are likely put a person at greater risk of developing heart failure, Hall said.
For the study, detailed in the journal Circulation, the team included 4,129 participants, aged 54 and of African-American origin.
The study took into account high blood pressure, diabetes, body mass and other factors that might have biased results.
Even those with a smoking history, equivalent to smoking a pack a day for 15 years, were also twice as likely to be hospitalised for heart failure.
"As healthcare professionals, we would recommend that all patients quit smoking anyway, but the message should be made even more forcefully to patients at higher risk of heart failure,"Hall said.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
