Continuous indoor exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke triggers changes in the heart's electrical activity that may cause irregular heartbeat, a study warns.
The finding, conducted in mice, suggests that second-hand smoke exposure alters cells that regulate how the heart beats.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, expands overall knowledge of the effects of tobacco smoke on cardiac function in nonsmokers.
The study is the first to examine cellular changes in heart tissue in response to ambient tobacco smoke, researchers said.
Another distinction is that it focused on a heart condition other than coronary artery disease (CAD), or plaque buildup and vessel hardening associated with lifestyle and age.
Mice were exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke in a chamber specifically designed to test health effects associated with inhaled toxins.
The smoke levels were set to be similar to those found in public areas where smokers are present.
Following four, eight and 12 weeks of exposure for six hours a day, five days a week, the animals’ hearts were tested using high-speed imaging and electrocardiograms for changes in electrical activity.
To test susceptibility to arrhythmias, hearts were paced at fast heart rates.
They also were tested for levels of calcium, which regulates heart contraction and contributes to abnormal rhythms.
The results were compared to hearts of mice exposed only to filtered air.
They also found that calcium levels in these hearts did not respond quickly enough, causing beat-to-beat instability, or cardiac alternans.
“The high incidence of cardiac alternans is particularly concerning because we know that patients with this condition are at significantly higher risk for arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death,” Ripplinger said.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)