Honest research on pipe smoking & Atrial Fib?

[990rick]

Because I have coronary artery disease (courtesy of Agent Orange) I have to be extra careful. So much of the 'information' online talks about the risks associated with cigarette smoking and atrial fibrillation, but usually has either contaminated research on pipe smoking (lumping people who smoke both cigarettes and pipe for instance) or no pipe smoking research at all, but just a statement to the effect that risks are lower for pipe smokers, but more research is needed.
Does anyone know of even a single study on the risks involved in pipe smoking in which there really is a test group of strictly pipe smokers? I'm very loathe to give up my pipe altogether, but am quite willing and ready to limit my smoking if I could just find a reliable information source on the risks associated with various levels of pipe smoking.
I really can't properly express how much I would appreciate some help with this.

 

[docrx]

Unfortunately tobacco does have nicotine and nic can effect the pipe smoker.Vitamin N effects heart rate and a-fib is a rapid heart rate. Of course a-fib is a multifactoral disease with many possibilities of causation.While i wouldn t recommend it ,if you must smoke,use a filtered pipe and a tobacco with the smallest Vit.N content as possible.Eliminate dietary factors,especially caffeine and avoid stressful situations. A consistent light to moderate exercise regimen is recommended.As Noted in research articles in JAMA,primary pipe smokers have far less blood nicotine levels than those who also indulge or have indulged in cigarette smoking.Therefore never inhale your pipe and smoke in well ventilated areas.Note(i am not a physician but an RPH).Balance your need to smoke a pipe and the stress not smoking may cause you.I do recommend following your physicians advice.

 

[ace57]

99Orick, Sorry I can't help with that one. I would just like to say WELCOME HOME. :worship:

 

[cyndi]

I had atrial fib once when my potassium levels got too low and I ended up in the hospital for that one. (I have a genetic heart defect with an added bonus of a nerve disorder - MVP w/dysautonomia and my dad has neurocardiogenic syncope - I have the syncope part, but the cardios say it's auto-immune and the rheumys say it's neurocardiogenic which means I don't have a diagnosis but I'm under instructions to try not to die. I've tried everything they've suggested and nothing has worked.)
Normally, I'm just tachychardic - my resting pulse is almost always 110 and on annoying days, 130 to 150 bpm. Since I started smoking a pipe, I've noticed that I haven't had nearly as much trouble with my pulse or with the dysautonomia symptoms. Now, this is just my personal experience, so no lawsuits please. I haven't cut down on my caffeine or started eating better, so I'm pretty sure the improvement is due to the tobacco.
Today, I was out at my kids' psychiatrist appointments and the doctor was having some issues with hornet stings that were causing all sorts of trouble. I recommended she get some PA, wet it down and use it as a poultice. She said she was willing to try anything and we got to talking about pipe smoking. I know she's a psychiatrist, but she said that the reaction I'm having to it makes perfect medical sense. Next month, I may have to give her a pipe and suggest she uses the tobacco for more than a poultice.

 

[990rick]

DocRX, I appreciate the input. It's pretty much in line with what I had guessed was the case. I am planning on cutting back to three pipes a week, figuring that will only increase my chances of developing A-fib very slightly. As far as avoiding stress; my PTSD pretty much screws me on that score. I still live with one foot in Viet Nam. I avoid most contact with civilians and live way out in the woods, but I still hear the screams and cries for help I cannot give. I kicked the drug and alcohol abuse out of my life 15 years ago, but the tranquilizers the docs at the VA put me on nearly killed me, so I quit them too and took up the pipe and finally found some genuine relief, which now must be cut way back. So it goes. Mark Twain reported that he was told that he could add ten years to his life if he gave up tobacco, but he pointed out that the people who told him that were mistaken to assume he was interested in ten years without tobacco. I just don't know where I'm at in this, but again, thanks for the info.

 

[docrx]

YW and good luck! TY for your service in Viet Nam.