A recent study found that breathing in secondhand cigarette smoke increases the risk of heart failure by 35%.
The study, which was being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session on Wednesday, was conducted on 11,219 nonsmokers who showed a 35% increase in developing heart failure.
“It adds to overwhelming evidence that secondhand smoke is harmful,” said Travis Skipina, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, and the study’s lead author, in a statement. “[Secondhand smoke] has been associated with stroke and heart attacks, but what really hadn’t been reported before was its association with heart failure, which is a very debilitating and costly disease."
According to the study, the participants in the study were followed from 1988-1994.
Researchers said over half the participants were women (55.9%), and 70.5% were white.
The study found that nearly 1 out of 5 had evidence of secondhand smoke exposure.
In the study, men were more likely to develop heart failure because Skipina said, "males, in general, tend to get [cardiovascular] disease at a younger age and overall, they were younger, so that may be why they were predisposed."