Low levels of smoke raise risk of dying from heart disease, study shows

Just a few whiffs of tobacco smoke or dirty air can have a profound negative impact on your heart's health. Study results released today by the American Heart Association suggest that exposure to even a small amount of smoke - whether it's from your own cigarette or someone else's - greatly increases your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The same goes for breathing in air polluted with carbon monoxide emissions. 'It doesn't require extreme exposure to have significant cardiovascular effects. Even passive exposures to ambient air pollution and secondhand smoke contribute to significant increases in cardiovascular mortality,' study author C. Arden Pope III, PhD, says in a statement