The Effect of Cigarette and Its Nicotine Content on The Heart Health

Smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and significantly affects the severity and pattern of coronary artery disease (CAD). Moreover, tobacco smoking increases the risk of CVD and finally will cause morbidity and mortality. It has been proved that the increment of habitual consumption of cigarettes per day up to 20 increases the risk of myocardial infarction by about three times greater than in nonsmokers.

In this study, we are trying to review the effect of cigarettes and their nicotine content on heart health and the heart disease which are induced by smoking.

A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PubMed Central (PMC), UpToDate databases, and Google Scholar databases from 2012 till Feb 2020. In this regard, pre-decided keywords were used and specific inclusion/exclusion criteria were considered to achieve more accurate and related papers. Data were extracted from all the included studies through a precise review of the articles.

In this study, the evidence regarding the effect of smoking on coronary heart disease (CHD) and the severity and pattern of CVD are reviewed. Based on our study, smoking increases the risk of nearly all CVD subtypes such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI), cerebrovascular disease, and heart failure. Smoking has some relative risks that their fatal and non-fatal outcomes are similar. The risk of heart diseases related to smoking will decrease significantly after quitting smoking.