Smoking Damages Cardiovascular Health

Posted by: Tampa Cardio

On: February 18, 2019

smoking heart disease

Attention all smokers.

If you haven’t yet quit you may want to read this article. While there are many good reasons to stop smoking you may not have been aware of the effect it can have on your cardiovascular system. This includes your arteries, veins, and heart.

One of every 5 deaths in the USA every year is attributable to smoking according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Smoking is considered to be the #1 preventable cause of illness and death in our country.

Smoking has a negative effect on all of the organs in your body. It isn’t just tobacco you are smoking – cigarettes contain a number of artificial toxic chemicals that can damage the heart, cause injury to your blood vessels causing them to become inflamed and swollen and opens the door for cardiovascular conditions.

Smoking can be particularly damaging to your health when it’s combined with other risk factors — such as high cholesterol levels in the blood, high blood pressure and being overweight/obesity.

Plaque builds up in the coronary artery which can end up leading to coronary heart disease. Plaque build-up in arteries carries blood flow to the head, limbs, and organs causing peripheral artery disease. In these cases, blood flow is restricted. The blockage grows over time. This can lead to blood clots and ultimately a stroke or heart attack if the clot breaks free to travel in the body.

One may think that occasional smoking wouldn’t really count. Quite untrue. Even light smoking and second-hand smoke can all harm you in the very same ways. Second-hand smoke is especially dangerous for kids.

Top doctors all agree that no matter how long you’ve smoked, quitting will benefit your overall health. Within just one year the risk of having a heart attack drops dramatically. Given five years, the risk of having a stroke drops to the same level of a non-smoker. These statistics are both courtesies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health.

If you are in the Tampa, Florida area and in need of a Cardiologist we invite you to make an appointment with The Tampa Cardiovascular Associates www.tampacardio.com 813-975-2800.

Posted by: Tampa Cardio

On: 18/02/2019

Leave a Reply