Exposure To Second-Hand Smoke During Childhood Leads To Heart Disease

In a new study it is found those who are exposed to second-hand smoke in womb or as children are at higher risk of atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm).

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, say smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of heart disease in kids. It may even lead to heart failure or stroke in later stage of life.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Gregory Marcus, however said they couldn’t find the cause-and-effect relationship between exposure to smoking and atrial fibrillation risk, but the link is statistically significant though.

Dr. Marcus is an expert in treating arrhythmia at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, Calif. He added if the upper and lower chambers of the heart stops to synchronize, it gives the experience of irregular heart beat.

According to the US Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, such irregular heart beat may boost up stroke risk and even can lead to chest discomfort and heart failure.

The new study is published in the HeartRhythm medical journal. It writes the researchers surveyed about 5,000 participants about their second-hand smoke exposure during their childhood and also their history of cardiovascular disease.

About 12 percent of the subjects said they were diagnosed with heart disease.

Researchers say the only way to reduce the risk is by preventing second-hand smoke exposure in the womb and also during the childhood.