Nicotine substitutes do not present any particular risk to the heart. This is the result of a review of studies conducted by the American Heart Association.
Nicotine chewing gum, patches, tablets, these are the three most commonly used nicotine substitutes to quit smoking. According to a study published Dec. 9 in the journal of the American Heart Association, Circulation, these products do not present cardiovascular risks. Researchers reviewed more than 60 clinical trials on the side effects of nicotine replacement therapy to reach these conclusions.
The benefits outweigh the risks
Chewing gum, inhalers and patches are not associated with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from any other heart problem. The same is true for varenicline, a drug that acts as a nicotine antagonist on the brain. Bupropion, an antidepressant prescribed for some patients who quit smoking, even protects the heart against certain cardiovascular diseases.
According to study co-author Edward Mills, “The benefits of quitting smoking outweigh any potential risks of smoking cessation therapies. “Indeed, smoking promotes the onset of cardiovascular diseases: myocardial infarction, stroke, arterial hypertension. On the other hand, quitting smoking is associated with better general and cardiovascular health and therefore with a better quality of life as well as a higher life expectancy.
Watch out for the mixture of tobacco and sustituts
Faced with these benefits, the “very minor” risks of substitution treatments do not seem to weigh heavily in the balance. In addition, Edward Mills underlines that these risks are already known to the doctors, who take them into account during the interviews with their patients. Certain manifestations, such as a slight increase in heart rate, “often pass over time” and are most often related to a mixture. This is particularly the case for people who smoke while wearing a patch: the high dose of nicotine in the body could explain these side effects. The researchers also point out that the combination of nicotine substitutes may be more effective. But chewing gum while wearing a patch can also lead to more side effects than using just one replacement therapy.
However, the researchers recognize a weakness in their analysis of clinical trials: they only involved healthy participants. The team therefore expresses a reservation concerning the cardiovascular risks of nicotine substitutes: it is possible that they are real in sick patients, in particular those suffering from chronic lung or cardiovascular disease. To avoid serious side effects, it is therefore recommended that every smoker wishing to stop consulting his doctor to develop a strategy that takes into account the risk factors.
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