What Does Smoking Do to Your Heart?

While smoking is typically associated with lung problems, it also causes damage to your cardiovascular system, which includes the heart, blood and blood vessels.

Tobacco products contain a multitude of harmful substances, many of which get deposited onto the artery walls. These substances become sticky and trap fatty deposits, thereby clogging the arteries and restricting blood flow to and from the heart.

That means each time you use tobacco, your heart must work harder because your arteries are getting smaller and smaller to the point where they are so diseased, it can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

Smoking Harms Everyone

While directly smoking is worse, secondhand smoke is also dangerous. Secondhand smoke exposure can produce harmful inflammatory and respiratory effects within minutes of exposure and can last for hours afterwards.

Nonsmokers who inhale secondhand smoke are affected by the chemicals in the smoke, putting them at a greater risk of many cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as some cancers.

Quitting smoking is the best way to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke.

It’s Never Too Late to Quit

Here’s the good news: no matter how long you’ve used tobacco products, the health benefits of quitting will start almost immediately. The longer amount of time you stay tobacco-free, the greater the impact.

To help motivate you, consider the following:

• Within 20 minutes of quitting, your heart rate and blood pressure will decrease.
• Within 12 hours of quitting, the carbon monoxide levels in your blood will return to normal.
• Within 3 months of quitting, your risk of a heart attack decreases and your lungs will begin to work better.
• After 1 year, your added risk of coronary artery disease is half that of someone who smokes.
• After 5 years, your risk of stroke is the same as that of a nonsmoker.
• After 10 years, your lung cancer death rate is about half that of someone who smokes.
• After 15 years, your risk of coronary artery disease is the same as that of a nonsmoker.

Quit Tobacco For Good

Ditching tobacco may be one of the hardest things you ever undertake, but it is possible with commitment and effort. To be tobacco-free for the long term, you will need to keep your guard up and expect some challenges.

Your brain is used to nicotine, in the first couple of days and weeks of quitting, you will have cravings for cigarettes, feel hungry, get headaches, and experience constipation. These are all symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine, and they will pass.

Everyone’s journey to quit smoking is different, but you don’t have to do it alone. Finding an evidence-based program will provide you with the information, tools and support you need.

There are many helpful local and national resources available, such as:

• St. Elizabeth Tobacco Cessation program
• American Lung Association Freedom from Smoking®
• Smokefree.gov
• Quit Now Indiana
• Quit Now Kentucky
• American Cancer Society Empowered to Quit
• Nicotine Anonymous

Here are some tips to help keep you on track:

• Know your triggers. Be aware of the habits, emotions and situations that trigger a desire to smoke or vape. Understanding when and why you smoke will help you choose a quit method that works best for you.
• Set a quit date. Mark it on your calendar as a motivator. Some smokers like to pick a day that means something to them, such as a birthday or anniversary. Share your plan to quit with family, friends and coworkers.
• Select a method. You can stop “cold turkey”, gradually cut back the number of cigarettes you smoke each day or increase the amount of time between each cigarette.
• Ask for help. Talk to your healthcare provider about your plan and decide if medication options would be beneficial.