If your doctor recommends getting a pacemaker, then it is definitely time to quit smoking. While smoking is hazardous to anyone's health, if you have a pacemaker this habit is especially dangerous. Heart disease that has advanced to the point of requiring a pacemaker is a major problem in and of itself. Smoking tobacco will further contribute to other serious cardiovascular complications down the road.
Pacemakers
A pacemaker is a small, electronic device that is implanted near your heart to control its rate of contraction. Approximately the size of a pocket watch, implantation of a pacemaker may be indicated if you have a history of arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, slow heart rate or heart failure. A major contributing factor in the development of these conditions involves damage to blood vessels, also known as vascular disease. Through a process known as atherosclerosis, poor diet, sedimentary lifestyle and a history of smoking will narrow arteries throughout your body. If the arteries supplying blood to the heart, also known as the coronary arteries, are narrowed through this process, the heart muscle will accumulate damage due to insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients. Damage to specific areas of cardiac tissue may lead to the development of heart conditions requiring the placement of a pacemaker.
Smoking Effects on Surgery
Smoking not only damages your lungs but has significant effects on the properties of your blood vessels. According to the article "Nicotine, CO and HCN: the detrimental effects of smoking on wound healing," these three toxic components of cigarettes all contribute to problems with wound healing, which would complicate recovery from pacemaker surgery.
Smoking and Heart Disease
Even after the pacemaker has been implanted and you have recovered from surgery, the risks of smoking remain significantly elevated. The toxins in smoke increase the probability that your blood will form a clot, also known as a thrombus. Combined with narrowed arteries due to chronic atherosclerosis, you are at a high risk of forming a clot in a coronary artery, leading to more tissue death and magnification of your heart disease. This process is known as a myocardial infarction, or heart attack, and is one of many serious complications that can result from long-term smoking.
Additional Applications
Quitting smoking is one of the single best things you can do to improve your health. Pacemakers are the best option for combating some forms of heart arrhythmia and disease. If you continue to smoke after pacemaker surgery, you are placing a large burden on an already weak heart. Talk to your doctor about strategies and medications you can take to help quit smoking as soon as possible.
