Rates of Smoking in the Households of Cardiac Patients

This journal article describes a study assessing the percentage of cardiac rehabilitation patients who share a household with regular smokers. One hundred and three consecutive cardiac patients attending a hospital-based outpatient 10-week multidisciplinary cardiac rehabilitation program in Ireland completed a questionnaire assessing the smoking behavior of cardiac patients and the smoking behavior of others in the patient’s household. Overall, there was no significant difference between smokers, former smokers, and nonsmokers in terms of agreeing that smoking contributes to the development of coronary heart disease. Forty percent of the sample reported sharing a household with someone else who smoked. Of note, there was a statistically significant association between smoking status and the presence of someone in the household smoking, with only 25 percent of never smokers living with a smoker but 70 percent of current smokers living with a smoker. The single most common smoker in the household was the patient’s spouse, followed by son, daughter, and son and daughter. Of those living with a smoker, only 15 percent reported that the smoker did not smoke in their presence. Thus, 85 percent of cardiac patients living in a house where someone smoked were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Seventy-one percent of the current smokers reported that others smoked in their presence whereas only 25 percent of nonsmokers reported such living arrangements. Approximately one in four houses had a designated smoking area in the house, and there was no association between smoking status and the presence of a designated smoking area. A substantial number of cardiac patients may be exposed to ETS in the household. Interventions to modify the behavior of other members of the cardiac patient’s household may be warranted to achieve optimum secondary prevention.