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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Is Nicotine Replacement Therapy Safe After Heart Attack? Being one of the leading causes of preventable death globally, smoking can lead to many diseases including lung cancer, heart disease, vascular stenosis, hypertension, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is also known that smoking during pregnancy may cause ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) to a fetus. Every year, about half a million Americans are attributed to smoking-related diseases. In China, it is estimated that as much as one-third of male population will have significantly shortened life spans due to smoking. Statistics showed that male and female smokers lose an average of 13.2 and 14.5 years of life respectively. As a result of smoking, at least half of all lifelong smokers die earlier. Since smoking is so bad for the health, smokers should kick this habit. But it is easier said than done. Because of the addiction caused by nicotine embedded in a cigarette, it is extremely difficult for people to quit smoking. In general, using any form of tobacco, including smoking cigarettes, cigars, and pipes, or using chewing tobacco or snuff, can rapidly lead to addiction. The substance in tobacco that causes addiction is called nicotine, which is a stimulant that can cause smokers to temporarily feel good or energized.
For a certain group of people, for instance patients after heart attack, continued smoking can greatly increase the risk of a recurrent heart attack. But it is difficult for these patients to quit smoking cold turkey. That is why they need other means such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for help. NRT involves the use of products that provide low dose of nicotine but do not contain the toxins found in the smoke. It enables the easier overcoming of nicotine addiction by lowering nicotine withdrawal and craving by supplying nicotine to the body. It contains about one-third to one-half the amount of nicotine found in most cigarettes. Nicotine patches, gum, inhalers and lozenges are some common forms of NRT. When used properly, NRT is safe. The chance for would-be quitters to actually quit smoking could be doubled. Nevertheless, there has been a theoretical concern that NRT might be harmful for heart disease patients as nicotine could cause constriction of the arteries. To examine whether NRT is safe, researchers from Hillsboro Cardiology in Oregon collected medical information on 663 smokers discharged from the hospital after having acute coronary syndrome (ACS), which includes a heart attack or feeling chest pain without exercising. A nicotine replacement product, in most cases the patch, was prescribed to 184 of these patients. After one year, the patients who received a prescription fared about as well as those who did not: 29 percent of the people in the nicotine group and 31 percent of the people in the other group died or experienced another major heart problem. In conclusion, NRT use was not associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events in the first year after ACS. The findings, which were published online on June 22, 2012 in the ‘American Journal of Cardiology’, certainly supported the fact that NRT can be used safely after ACS. The study, however, did not find out if patients prescribed NRT actually used it, nor if those who were not prescribed it might have gotten their own over-the-counter NRT. In fact, it is a wake-up call for a person who comes to the hospital with a heart attack. He or she might be more willing to change the habit than later on. Hence, having an anti-smoking aid available to smokers right out of the hospital is important because this is a great opportunity to help them. Other health professionals admitted that the study backed up many cardiologists who had already considered NRT safe. In their opinion, heart attack patients who are also smokers should talk to their doctor and ask about NRT. They should raise the issue even if their doctors did not because NRT can really help them and it seems safe.
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