According to the American Heart Association, smoking-related diseases are responsible for more than 440,000 deaths in the United States per year as of 2010. Cigarette smoking puts you at a higher risk for high blood pressure, blood clots, high LDL cholesterol, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis.
Blood Vessels
Chemicals found in tobacco smoke are harmful to blood cells and impairs heart function. These chemicals also damage the structure and function of vessels. When this occurs, your risk of developing atherosclerosis increases. Atherosclerosis is characterized by a fatty buildup of plaque within the arterial walls. The plaque hardens over time, narrowing the arteries and limited the flow of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. This can lead to coronary heart disease, which can cause angina, heart failure, heart attack, arrhythmias or death.
Blood Pressure/Cholesterol
Smoking forces the heart to work harder to pump oxygen-rich blood out to the organs. This results in an elevated heart rate and blood pressure. Smoking lowers HDL cholesterol, or good cholesterol, in the body, resulting in a higher levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol, which over time raises the risk of heart disease.
Peripheral Arterial Disease
Peripheral arterial disease is a disease in which plaque accumulates in the arteries that carry blood to the head, limbs and organs. According to the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, smoking increases a person's risk for developing PAD, which can lead to a stroke, heart attack or heart disease.
Other Risk Factors
Smokers younger than 50 years old have a greater risk of developing smoking-related coronary disease than those older than 50, according to the American Heart Association. Women who smoke while using oral contraceptives are also at increased risk of stroke and coronary disease than non-smoking women who take oral contraceptives.
Benefits of Quitting
Heart disease risk is decreases when you quit smoking and continues to decrease for years after you quit. One year after you quit your risk is cut in half. If you do not develop heart disease within 15 years of quitting, your risk for heart disease is the same as a person who never smoked, If you have heart disease and quit smoking, your risk of a second heart attack, cardiac death or death from other chronic diseases decrease by as much as half your risk if you continue to smoke. Risk of blood clots and atherosclerosis decreases over time after you quit smoking.
