This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
People under the age of 40 are five times more likely to suffer a heart attack if they smoke, a study reveals.
The finding, based on World Health Organization records, blows away the long-held notion that only older, longtime smokers are at risk of developing heart disease.
Researchers found that four-fifths of 35-to-39- year-old heart-attack victims in a multinational group were smokers, with men nearly five times as likely to have a nonfatal heart attack as their nonsmoking peers.
The impact was more devastating for female smokers in the same age bracket. They were more than five times as likely to have a heart attack.
Post Wire Services
Copyright 2004 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.