You know smoking is a major cause of certain kinds of cancer, including lung and mouth cancer. But did you know it also significantly increases your risk of heart attack and stroke?
How Great Is the Risk?
Many studies have identified smoking as a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, including stroke, heart attack, vascular disease, and aneurysm. It is estimated that nearly one-fifth of deaths from heart disease are attributable to smoking.
The U.S. Surgeon General has identified cigarette and tobacco smoke as the "most important of the known modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease in the United States."
Smokers are more than twice as likely to have a heart attack, and up to four times more likely to die from sudden cardiac arrest. Smoking also greatly increases your risk of stroke, high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). It increases bad cholesterol (LDL) and decreases HDL (good) cholesterol.
Additionally, smoking decreases your lung function, making it more difficult to exercise or simply breathe. It desensitizes your taste buds, leading to an increased use of salt. It also makes your blood more likely to form clots, increasing the risk of stroke. And as if those weren't enough, smoking also causes your skin to age more quickly.
Not Just Smokers
Smokers aren't the only ones at risk. Consistent exposure to secondhand smoke has been implicated in as many as 46,000 deaths in the United States each year related to heart and blood vessel disease. Even short-term exposure has negative effects.
Good News
No matter how long you've been a smoker, you can always benefit from quitting. Within 20 minutes of smoking your last cigarette, your blood pressure begins to drop. After 24 hours of being smoke-free, your chance of having a heart attack begins to decline. After a year of not smoking, your risk of coronary failure drops to half that of a smoker.
Within 10 to 15 years after quitting, the risk of cancer and heart disease is almost as low as that of a nonsmoker.
If you quit smoking, you are likely to add years to your life, breathe more easily, and have more energy. You will have extra money for spending or saving, and food will taste better. When you quit smoking, you join over a million people who break the habit each year. Whether you are young or old, you will also have:
- Less chance of cancer, heart attack, and lung disease
- Better blood circulation
- Healthier family members, particularly your children and grandchildren
- A healthy lifestyle example for your children and grandchildren
- No odor of smoke in your clothes and hair
- A more sensitive sense of smell
Naturally, it's better to have never smoked. But if you do smoke, there's no better time to stop than now. |
