A quarter of heart transplant patients start smoking again, researchers reveal
More than one in four heart transplant patients start smoking again after their operation.
Their disregard for what most recipients view as a precious gift cuts their life expectancy by more than four years, researchers found.
The figures provoked a furious response from more responsible patients last night, who said it was an abuse of the transplant process.
John Fisher, 46, who was given a replacement heart in 2000, called it a "disgrace".
"Half of those on the heart transplant list die while waiting," said Mr Fisher, from Ashford, West London.
"A further one in five dies during or shortly after the operation. If you survive a transplant operation you owe it to your family, your donor's family and especially to the other people waiting for a transplant to promote transplantation in a positive way."
The study was carried out by doctors at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. They began analysing urine samples for signs of tobacco use in 1993.
Over the next 13 years, they tracked 380 male patients to see how many started smoking again and what effect it had on their replacement hearts. The results, published in the American Journal of Transplantation, revealed that 104 smoked in the months and years after surgery.
They lived an average of 11.89 years after the operation - more than four years less than those who stayed off cigarettes.
The smokers suffered a condition called graft coronary artery disease, where blood vessels connected to the new heart are damaged by the toxic chemicals in tobacco.
The researchers concluded: "Our findings should be a powerful deterrent to patients from returning to smoking post-transplant. We hope it will aid those counselling patients, both before and after transplant."
Lewis Sander, 58, from Northampton, who received a replacement heart 17 years ago, said: "I think it's very selfish. The fact that these people have been given a second chance means somebody had to die for them to live a better quality of life."
A spokesman for the charity Donor Family Network, which offers support to donors' relatives, said some would be "very upset" at the behaviour of patients who benefited from their loved ones' organs.
"A lot of families will be very upset and disappointed," said Pauline Weaver, a trustee of the charity. "But donors and their families cannot choose who they give an organ to.
"All they can do is give other people the chance of a better life. What they choose to do with that is up to them."
Many transplant centres demand that patients stop smoking for at least six months before they can even get on the waiting list for a new heart.
There are around 200 heart transplants a year in the UK.
Eighty-eight people, including 16 under-18s, are currently waiting for a heart and a further 18 are on the waiting list for combined heart and lung transplants.
UK Transplant, the body which oversees organ transplants, declined to comment on the report but stressed that all patients were assessed for their suitability, including an analysis of their lifestyle prior to transplant.
The British Heart Foundation said that although it was "sad" so many transplant patients smoked again, for many it was a way of coping with the stress after surgery and the daily need to take anti-rejection tablets.
Their disregard for what most recipients view as a precious gift cuts their life expectancy by more than four years, researchers found.
The figures provoked a furious response from more responsible patients last night, who said it was an abuse of the transplant process.
John Fisher, 46, who was given a replacement heart in 2000, called it a "disgrace".
"Half of those on the heart transplant list die while waiting," said Mr Fisher, from Ashford, West London.
"A further one in five dies during or shortly after the operation. If you survive a transplant operation you owe it to your family, your donor's family and especially to the other people waiting for a transplant to promote transplantation in a positive way."
The study was carried out by doctors at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. They began analysing urine samples for signs of tobacco use in 1993.
Over the next 13 years, they tracked 380 male patients to see how many started smoking again and what effect it had on their replacement hearts. The results, published in the American Journal of Transplantation, revealed that 104 smoked in the months and years after surgery.
They lived an average of 11.89 years after the operation - more than four years less than those who stayed off cigarettes.
The smokers suffered a condition called graft coronary artery disease, where blood vessels connected to the new heart are damaged by the toxic chemicals in tobacco.
The researchers concluded: "Our findings should be a powerful deterrent to patients from returning to smoking post-transplant. We hope it will aid those counselling patients, both before and after transplant."
Lewis Sander, 58, from Northampton, who received a replacement heart 17 years ago, said: "I think it's very selfish. The fact that these people have been given a second chance means somebody had to die for them to live a better quality of life."
A spokesman for the charity Donor Family Network, which offers support to donors' relatives, said some would be "very upset" at the behaviour of patients who benefited from their loved ones' organs.
"A lot of families will be very upset and disappointed," said Pauline Weaver, a trustee of the charity. "But donors and their families cannot choose who they give an organ to.
"All they can do is give other people the chance of a better life. What they choose to do with that is up to them."
Many transplant centres demand that patients stop smoking for at least six months before they can even get on the waiting list for a new heart.
There are around 200 heart transplants a year in the UK.
Eighty-eight people, including 16 under-18s, are currently waiting for a heart and a further 18 are on the waiting list for combined heart and lung transplants.
UK Transplant, the body which oversees organ transplants, declined to comment on the report but stressed that all patients were assessed for their suitability, including an analysis of their lifestyle prior to transplant.
The British Heart Foundation said that although it was "sad" so many transplant patients smoked again, for many it was a way of coping with the stress after surgery and the daily need to take anti-rejection tablets.
Source
Labels: Culture Commentary, Headshake, Medical
posted by Cyemm at 7:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home