The Role of Smoking in Cardiovascular Disease

Smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke increases the risk of angina, heart attack, stroke and other blood vessel diseases. A smoker’s risk of developing heart disease is directly proportional to the number of cigarettes he or she smokes daily – one study showed that every additional cigarette increases the risk of a non-fatal heart attack by 5.6%. People who have other risk factors for heart disease are at particularly high risk if they smoke.

Smoking affects the cardiovascular system in a number of ways:

• It decreases the blood level of HDL (“good”) cholesterol and increases the level of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which causes certain kinds of damage to the heart and blood vessels.
• It increases the amount of carbon monoxide in the blood, which may increase the risk of injury to the lining of the arteries.
• It causes arteries already narrowed by atherosclerosis to constrict, further decreasing the amount of blood reaching the body’s cells.
• It increases the blood's tendency to clot (by making platelets stickier) and thus increases the risk of blockage in arteries all over the body – which can result in heart attack, stroke or other conditions.

Fortunately, studies have shown that becoming smoke-free reduces the risk of a smoking-related heart attack by one half in the first year alone. In fact, the benefits of becoming smoke-free begin immediately and increase with time, even in people who have already had a heart attack.

For more information on the risks associated with smoking, the benefits of becoming smoke-free, and tips to help you get there, visit "www.itscanadastime.ca"