Cigarette smoking is an important risk factor for left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, systolic dysfunction, and incident heart failure (HF) among blacks, a recent study found. Researchers investigated 4,129 (never smoker n=2,884, current smoker n=503, and former smoker n=742) black participants (mean age 54 years, 63% women) without a history of HF or coronary heart disease (CHD) at baseline in the Jackson Heart Study. They found:

• Current smoking was associated with higher mean LV mass index and lower mean LV circumferential strain compared with never smoking.
• Smoking status, intensity, and burden were associated with high mean brain natriuretic peptide levels.
• After adjustment for traditional risk factors and incident CHD, current smoking, smoking intensity among current smokers, and smoking burden among ever smokers were significantly associated with incident HF hospitalization vs never smoking.