What Is The Mortality Rate Of A Heart Patient With Smoking Addiction?

Posted on Thu, 28 Aug 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 28 Aug 2014 Answered on

Fri, 19 Sep 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi there! A really good friend of mine (41 years old) is suffering from different heart diseases. News of today is a heart function of 10-15 percent. Half a year ago it was 30 percent. He has a lot of water in his lungs and sometimes even in hands, arms and legs. Sometimes his stomach looks like that of a pregnant woman (we are not sure if that is the water?) A month ago he had a heart attack but recovered after being hospitalized for a while (he had a lot of heart attacks for the last couple of years). Because of mental illness and the abuse of drugs (he uses speed from time to time to be able to get out of bed to get something done) and a smoking habit of 20-30 cigarettes a day, they seem to have given up on him. He gets some medicine, but it makes him extremely tired and therefore he quits it from time to time. His general health and eating habits are bad. He has been in and out of the hospital a lot in the last 6 months. I am a close friend and it is so painful to just be watching this. Just two weeks ago there was a small improvement, but today I realized that this is not going to get better. We have a lot of things to get in order, how long time will he have left? I know this is a very difficult answer, but what do statistics say? I can't change his bad habits, what can I do for him to make his last time better?

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I need to have his medical data as following.

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXX,

I have gone through your medical history and understood your concerns.

Further data of yours is needed before running into final conclusions:
- what medication he is taking ( especially beta blockers).
- what about your blood pressure (bp) readings?
- what about other co morbid such as diabetes or renal failure

I need to have these data to give a specific answer.

Anyway, generally speaking, the lower the EF and the lower the bp, the higher chances for mortality. According to statistics, with such data, the mortality rate is up to 50% for the first year in such patients.

Psychological approach can help. Be close to him, make him feel that you are taking care of him.

All the best and God bless!
Dr.Benard

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D