Smoking riskier for women's hearts than men's

Tobacco wipes out natural difference between the sexes, doctors say

Associated Press
updated 12:04 p.m. ET, Tues., Sept. 2, 2008

MUNICH, Germany - Women who smoke may develop heart disease at almost the same age as male smokers, wiping out the natural difference between the sexes, doctors said Tuesday.

In research presented to the European Society of Cardiology, Norwegian researchers said that women who smoke have heart attacks nearly 14 years earlier than women who don't smoke. For men, the figure is about six years.

"This is not a minor difference," said Dr. Silvia Priori, a cardiologist at the Scientific Institute in Pavia, Italy. "Women need to realize they are losing much more than men when they smoke," she said. Priori was not connected to the research.

Dr. Morten Grundtvig and colleagues from the Innlandet Hospital Trust in Lillehammer, Norway, looked at data from 1,784 patients admitted for a first heart attack at a hospital in Lillehammer.

They found that the men on average had their first heart attack at age 72 if they didn't smoke, and at 64 if they did.

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