Smoking may lead to heart failure by thickening the heart wall

Smokers without obvious signs of heart disease were more likely than nonsmokers and former smokers to have thickened heart walls and reduced heart pumping ability, report investigators at conclusion of their study. The longer and more cigarettes people smoked, the greater the damage to their hearts’ structure and function, they report. Heart measures in former smokers were similar to nonsmokers, suggesting that quitting may reverse tobacco-related damage.