Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Heart Tip: Smoking & Heart Health
Smoking isn’t good for you, we’ve all heard this by now. We know that smoking is responsible for 76,000 deaths a year in the UK, but what impact does smoking actually have on your heart? If you’re a smoker, why is stopping smoking most likely the most impactful thing you can do to improve your health and reduce your risk of heart diseases?
As we kick off October (commonly known as Stoptober), this week’s healthy tip focusses on the physical impact smoking has on your heart health in an attempt to motivate you to finally ditch the habit that could cost you your life.
Cigarettes contain 4,000 chemicals
Many of these chemicals are extremely harmful to your body and include carbon monoxide, tar, and nicotine. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas which reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood.
Tar is a toxic chemical which accumulates in your lungs, forming a sticky residue. Nicotine is the addictive substance and when consumed it increases your heart rate and blood pressure.
Cigarettes increase your risk of heart diseases
Consuming the above-mentioned chemicals make the walls of your arteries ‘sticky’ which encourages fatty deposits circulating in your blood to stick to the artery walls.
These build up over time and reduces the amount of oxygen-rich blood travelling through your arteries which can result in a heart attack or stroke.
It is time to stop
It is never too late to quit smoking. Even if you have smoked all your life, health benefits can be seen within only a few hours of quitting. After one year of not smoking, you reduce your risk of having a heart attack by 50%.
There is a wealth of support available to help you quit, speak to your GP to discuss your options. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it – good luck!
Scots severely underestimate the scale and seriousness of heart and circulatory diseases, according to a new survey by the British Heart Foundation.
While it’s estimated around half of people in this country will get a heart or circulatory condition during our lifetime, more than a quarter (27 per cent) of those surveyed in Scotland thought the likelihood of them developing a heart condition was just 1 in 10, while over a fifth (22 per cent) thought the chance was just 1 in 50.
Only three per cent of respondents knew the correct answer – which is 1 in 2.
When people were asked if they thought they would be directly affected, Gen Z (33 per cent) are most likely to think they will ever be affected by heart and circulatory diseases, whereas baby boomers are the least likely (22 per cent).
Despite heart and circulatory conditions affecting men and women almost equally, only 27 per cent of women thought they could be at risk compared to 33 per cent of men.
These perceptions stand in stark contrast to the fact that there are currently 700,000 people living with a heart or circulatory disease in Scotland.
Worryingly, the survey also found confusion among members of the public about the seriousness of a heart attack and cardiac arrest. While both are life-threatening emergencies that require immediate medical treatment, only 79 per cent of Scots would call 999 for an ambulance if they thought a person was having a heart attack, while only 60 per cent of people considered a cardiac arrest a medical emergency.
The BHF released the figures to coincide with the launch of a new campaign that aims to shine a spotlight on hidden heart conditions. The charity says that these conditions can often go undiagnosed for too long and that they often aren’t discovered until something goes wrong, or it becomes too late.
For mum-of-two, Hannah Kirkpatrick, from Dalbeattie, the impact heart conditions can have on the family, is something she knows all too well.
Her son Evan, now 10, was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an inherited heart condition which causes the heart muscle to thicken, when he was just 11 months old. But it wasn’t until August last year that he underwent surgery – a septal myectomy – which has helped improve his life.
Hannah said: “He was only diagnosed with his heart condition by accident. When he was born, he had a bit of a flat head and, while it seemed to be getting better after a couple of months, his health visitor referred him to have a check over by his paediatrician.
“At the appointment they spent a long time listening to his heart and I could just tell something was wrong. Why else would they be listening for so long? He was referred to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary for a scan where they detected a heart murmur. It was a huge shock.”
Doctors said they would closely monitor Evan’s condition and saw him every six-months for regular check-ups.
However, in March 2022 Evan started to become more breathless. His lips would also get a blue tinge after walking. Hannah, who is also mum to Caitlin, 22, and her husband, Christopher, took Evan back to his cardiologist and he was put on the waiting list for a septal myectomy – surgery which would remove some of the thickened muscle in his heart.
The self-employed domestic cleaner, 40, said: “His surgery was on August 13, 2022, in Glasgow. It was meant to take around four to five hours. It was the worst day of my life, waiting and not knowing if he was going to be OK.”
Thankfully Evan made a speedy recovery and within a few days the then nine year was back home. “He took everything in his stride and bounced back,” said Hannah. “It was a huge relief and we can look ahead to the future.”
An estimated 27,000 people in Scotland have an inherited heart condition. The charity say heart and circulatory conditions can affect almost anyone at any stage of life regardless of lifestyle choices and family history which contradicts common misconception we may have in our heads of them only affecting those who may be older with unhealthy lifestyles.
David McColgan, Head of BHF Scotland, said: “It is deeply concerning to see that so many people are unaware of the scale and seriousness of heart and circulatory diseases.
“Decades of lifesaving medical advances have perhaps lulled people into believing that we’ve beaten heart and circulatory diseases when nothing could be further from the truth.
“These potentially deadly or life-limiting conditions continue to rob families of loved ones or blight the lives of people facing a future with an incurable disease.
“With this campaign we want to shine a spotlight on heart and circulatory diseases and help people understand that everyone can be affected.
“By funding groundbreaking research, we can get a step closer to breakthroughs that that can save outsmart heart disease for good.”
This September, the BHF is shining a spotlight on hidden heart conditions and urging the whole of the UK to get involved by supporting the charity however they can. Stories, stuff, time, or money: whatever you can give, please give.
Studies have shown 61% of the UK’s population over-indulge in alcohol over the festive season, more than they usually do.
Drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk of heart disease. How much is too much? How do you know how many units of alcohol you are consuming?
We’re providing some guidance on understanding alcohol units and keeping track of how much you are drinking this Christmas.
What are alcohol units and ABV?
Alcohol units represent the quantity of pure alcohol contained within an alcoholic drink (1 unit is 10ml of pure alcohol). The number of units of alcohol in your drink depends on the size and the strength of your drink. ABV means ‘alcohol by volume’ and this is a measure of the amount of alcohol as a percentage of the total volume of a drink.
Calculating your units
You can find the ABV on the labels of cans and bottles. To calculate the number of units in a drink, multiply the ABV by the volume (in ml) and divide by 1000.
ABV x volume (ml) ÷ 1000 = units
1 BOTTLE OF WINE
1 PINT BEER / LAGER / CIDER
1 SINGLE SPIRIT
750ml (ABV 13.5%) =
10 units
1 pint (568ml) (ABV 5.2%) =
3 units
25ml (ABV 40%) =
1 unit
The drinks you pour at home may be larger than the amount measured out in pubs. You could try using a measuring cup when pouring drinks at home so you can keep track of what you are drinking.
How much is too much?
For men and women, the maximum recommended alcohol units each week is 14, spread over 3 or more days. If you are pregnant, it is recommended that you do not drink alcohol at all.
Try recording how much you are drinking over a week using a diary or alcohol tracker.
The Heart of Scotland appeal, launched by national charity Heart Research UK, has partnered with Scottish Women in Sport (SWIS) in a bid to increase the activity levels of women across Scotland.
Every year, coronary heart disease, including heart attacks, kills around 2,600 women in Scotland – seven women every day.
The Heart of Scotland appeal was launched in 2019 to raise awareness of the problem of heart health in Scotland, as well as generating vital funds for pioneering research at Universities’ and hospitals across the country.
Coronary heart disease is Scotland’s single biggest killer, with lifestyle factors such as obesity and lack of exercise directly impacting upon a person’s risk.
In an effort to combat the statistic that more than a third of adults in Scotland do not achieve recommended levels of physical activity, the Heart of Scotland appeal has teamed up with SWIS to inspire women across Scotland to get more active.
Today, the Heart of Scotland Appeal and SWIS will be celebrating International Women’s Day by featuring inspirational video interviews with some of Scotland’s leading female athletes, including Hannah Rankin, Katie Archibald MBE, Jasmin Paris, Rebecca Sellar, Samantha Kinghorn and Rachel Corsie.
They will share their experiences of reaching the pinnacle of their respective sports and their advice for any young person wishing to follow in their footsteps.
Heart Research UK have collaborated on this latest campaign, which has been backed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, to highlight the relationship between an active lifestyle and a healthy heart whilst encouraging more women in Scotland to get active.
This is the second collaboration between Heart Research UK and Scottish Women in Sport who together produced a series of video interviews with four of the leading Scottish female researchers, academics and practitioners who have devoted their time and expertise to taking on heart disease for International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
Maureen McGonigle, Founder of Scottish Women in Sport, said:“It is a privilege to work with Heart Research UK, as they are such an established and passionate organisation.
“Together along with some of Scotland’s top sportswomen, we hope to raise awareness of the impact of heart disease on women, and hopefully encourage more women to get active and take on heart disease.”
Dr Helen Flaherty, head of Health Promotion and Education at Heart Research UK, said: “We all know how important it is to be active – it’s one of the best things we can do to improve our heart health.
“However, many people find it difficult to get motivated, or struggle to fit the recommended 150 minutes of exercise into a week.
“Women often find it difficult to engage with physical activity due to a lack of confidence and time. Through this partnership with SWIS, we hope to be able to encourage women all across Scotland to increase their activity levels, and also to encourage the next generation of Scottish sportswomen, as well as helping to reduce the gender gap in physical activity and sport.”
