Download Smoking cigarettes and the heart Alcohol and the heart Cocaine and

40A. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008. MIDWEEK NATION
This page compliments
by DR COLIN ALERT
Family physician and former medical director
of the Heart Foundation
MOST PEOPLE don’t think of alcohol or cigarettes
as drugs, but these can have devastating
consequences on the heart. Marijuana and cocaine
wine, such as flavenoids and other antioxidants.
are drugs, and these can also have devastating consequences
The linkage reported in many of these studies may
s to help
on the heart.
Here are some tip
be due to other lifestyle factors, rather than
althy
alcohol. These factors may include increased
you stay heart he
physical activity, and a diet high in fruits and
Smoking cigarettes and the heart
it
vegetables, and lower in saturated fats.
Inhaling smoke of any kind is dangerous; increasingly
Breakfast
u don’t usually –
a k f a s t even if yo aching for a high
e
r
b
t
a
But it is also known that, over time,
the evidence suggests that not only the smoker is affected.
e
d
an
y
Tr
t you re
and help preven
Smoking is a filthy way of getting a drug (chemical) into the drinking more than three drinks a day
will fill you up
.
ng
ni
or
k in mid m
can lead to high blood pressure, heart
body. There are many pollutants and carcinogens in
fat or sugar snac
failure, alcoholic cardiomyopathy
cigarette smoke – the American Heart Association notes
(enlarged and weakened heart),
that there are 4 000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, and no
grain
Brown
toast for w h o l e
cardiac arrhythmias and sudden
less than 40 of them are carcinogens (cancer causing
Swap your white
. This
al
cardiac death.
whole grain cere
drugs).
r e a d, or opt for a r i s k o f h e a r t d i s e a s e.
b
Current medical
Cigarette smoking increases the risk of heart disease;
your
can help l o w e r
smoking cigarettes still causes ten times more heart disease recommendations caution people
not to start drinking, if they do
than it causes cancer.
ought
Sandwich
not already drink. If you do
People who smoke have an increased level of
on limited shop-b fats and
Rather than rely
al
im
in
m
ith
own w
atherosclerosis in their coronary arteries (the blood vessels drink, do so in moderation. This
hes, p a c k y o u r
nc
lu
.
es
bl
ta
ge
means
an
average
of
two
or
less
which nourish the heart). Atherosclerosis is the build-up of
d ve
maximum fruit an
drinks per day for men, and one
fatty material – called atheroma – which can cause the
or less drinks daily for women.
inside lining of the artery to rupture, leading to a clot.
little fat or
Soup
(A drink is 12 oz of beer, 4 oz
If a clot forms in a narrowed coronary artery, the artery
s o u p s with very
Make your o w n
. It’s quick
s
e
l
b
a
t
e
g
of wine, 1.5 oz of 80-proof spirits,
can get blocked suddenly. This means part of the heart
esh ve
lt using lots of f r
in the
sa
l
or 1 oz of 100-proof spirits).
muscle loses its supply of blood and oxygen, resulting in
e and keeps wel
and simple to mak .
ys
part of the heart muscle being damaged. This is a heart
fridge for a few da
attack, also known as a myocardial infarction – myocardium Cocaine and the heart
re you pack
Cocaine is certainly considered by
refers to the heart muscle and infarction refers to the death
h y d i e t. Make su you know
t
uts
l
a
N
e
h
ur
yo
in
ru
if
everyone as a drug, and most people
of a part of it.
Don’t let snacking d s and carry some water or juice
ee
s
d
who die from cocaine use are killed by
n
A heart attack can cause severe chest pain, but other
a
s
t
u
n
it,
fru
e go for a while.
symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, heaviness or the drug’s effects on the heart. There are
you will be on th
several complications associated with cocaine
tightness in the chest, stomach, arms, shoulder or jaw.
Some heart attacks only cause a small amount of damage to use. These include myocarditis (inflammation
c o o k e r can
Casserole
like using a s l o w
t oil or salt.
of the heart muscle), endocarditis (inflammation
heart muscle. In these cases, people can recover quite
Those of you who
es
casserol withou
or
s
ew
st
y
th
al
he
of the inner lining of the heart), cardiomyopathy,
quickly.
prepare
myocardial infarction, and fatal and non-fatal
However, if a large part of the muscle gets damaged, it
Fish
arrhythmias (irregularities of the heart beat).
may limit the heart’s pumping efficiency permanently and
and warming dish
makes a healthy ts towards your
e
i
p
h
s
i
F
Some of these potentially fatal complications can occur
may result in death.
ly fish it coun
and if you use oi
e.
When smoking acts with other factors, like hypertension, in a first-time cocaine user.
Omega 3 intak
y
dl
heart frien
Smoking crack-cocaine, which is very potent, can lead to
diabetes and high cholesterol, it greatly increases the risk of
heart attacks (and strokes) in younger people, who are not
a heart attack and/or other heart problems.
Fruit
creasing your
normally at risk of heart problems.
to the heart –
A great way of in
n d v e g is to
Older people are at even greater risk because they are
Alcohol and the heart
and it can
intake of f r u i t a
n
ow
more
likely
to
have
diseased
arteries.
Over the past few decades, many studies have been
produce these
make your
. Cram in as
s
e
i
It is clear that cocaine is one of the most dangerous
h
published in medical journals showing that moderate
t
o
o
effects more rapidly
sm
y
yo
illegal drugs in common use.
drinking of alcohol may be associated with reduced
much as u fanc lf
than tobacco smoking.
urse
yo
z
hi
w
d
mortality due to heart disease in some populations. Some
an
Marijuana causes very
a tasty,
Marijuana and the heart
researchers have suggested that the benefits may be
much some of the same effects as
healthy
Marijuana use can increase the heart rate as much
due to the components in red
cocaine and cigarettes, but perhaps the
treat.
as 50 per cent, thus making the heart work a lot harder. It
effects on the heart are less potent than
can cause chest pain in people who have a poor blood supply cocaine.
S for ensuring
THREE TOP TIP s on a new exercise
es
stick-to-it succ
e.
programm
ific
cise for a spec
ONE: Plan exer
.
time of the day
.
t with a partner
TWO: Work ou enjoyable
re
Exercise is mo also harder
’s
It
.
d
n
ding
with a frie
meone is depen
so
en
to quit wh
on you.
ave
slowly. If you h
THREE: Start
ve to
fi
start with only
been inactive, work up to more
d
ten minutes an
more fit.
et
g
u
time as yo