In a study published in the journal ′Experimental Biology′, researchers discovered that smokers′ livers had much lower levels of Alpha-1 Anti Trypsin (A1AT), a protein that protects the body′s cells, and had lower heart attack survival rates than non-smokers.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, around 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes occur in the United States each year.

The study included 29 adult men and 11 adult women whose blood samples were drawn within one, four, 24, 48, and 96 hours of a heart attack diagnosis. Participants were divided into four groups namely smokers, non-smokers, hypertensive and non-hypertensive.  Researchers believed that when A1AT is released during a heart attack, it could protect the cardiac tissue and improve the survival rates among smokers. (Hindusthan Times, Apr 04,2022)