Smoking is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of and can worsen nearly all forms of acquired heart disease. The good news is that people who quit smoking get heart benefits quickly and can recover from the detrimental effects of tobacco.
In 1964, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report warning Americans that cigarette smoking increased the risk of heart disease, just one of many health problems tied to tobacco use. Since then, studies conducted around the world and in many different types of populations have confirmed that smoking contributes in a huge way to cardiovascular disease.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) kills one American every 33 seconds, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. More than 6 million Americans have CHD, and cigarette smoking is a major contributor to this problem. Compared to nonsmokers, smokers have 2 to 4 times the risk of CHD. Smoking doubles the risk of stroke. Peripheral vascular disease (blood vessel disease occurring in places other than the heart and brain) is 10 times more common in smokers than nonsmokers. Sudden coronary death risk has been linked to smoking, as well.
Heart disease caused by smoking also contributes to heart failure, which kills more than 40,000 people annually. People who smoke have a much higher risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm, a condition that causes dangerous ballooning in the aorta, a very large blood vessel serving the lower portion of the body. Aortic aneurysms that burst can be fatal within minutes.
The nicotine present in tobacco smoke increases heart rate and blood pressure. Cigarette smoking narrows the arteries, which diminishes circulation of oxygen-rich blood to key organs like the brain and heart. When these enter the circulation, the many poisonous components of tobacco smoke worsen atherosclerosis, the process by which the arteries harden, stiffen and become filled with plaque. When atherosclerosis affects the blood vessels of the heart, CHD develops.
People who smoke also have clumpier blood, meaning that the blood clots more easily. A clot from anywhere in the body can travel to the heart or brain to cause a heart attack or stroke, respectively. An ultrasound study completed in 2007 showed that in young, healthy smokers aged 20 to 40 years, smoking one cigarette after a 2-hour nonsmoking period made it difficult for the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber of the heart, to relax sufficiently between heartbeats. This can be the first step on the way to more serious left ventricle dysfunction, a condition that is common in older long-term smokers.
To prevent smoking-related heart disease, stop smoking. Your risk of heart disease begins to drop after you quit and is significantly reduced within 1 to 2 years. The risk of stroke also plummets after smoking cessation, and is the same as a nonsmoker’s risk in 5 to 15 years, according to the Surgeon General. Peripheral vascular disease risk is also reduced when you quit smoking. More than 46 million Americans are former smokers–join the club.