| ■ Women Smokers Suffer Heart Attacks Earlier Than Nonsmokers | 2008.09.08 |
| Smoking is more of a threat to women's hearts than to men's, according to Norwegian researchers who analyzed data from 1,784 patients admitted to a hospital after suffering a first heart attack. The study found that women who smoke have heart attacks nearly 14 years earlier than women who don't smoke -- age 81 vs. age 66. Men who smoke have heart attacks about eight years earlier than male nonsmokers -- age 72 vs. age 64, the Associated Press reported. Smoking may cause women to go through menopause earlier, leaving them less protected against a heart attack, suggested Dr. Morten Grundtvig and colleagues from the Innlandet Hospital Trust in Lillehammer. The study was presented to the European Society of Cardiology. |