Tobacco Use and Heart or Coronary Artery Disease

Smoking is the biggest danger to the health of your heart and blood vessels. And using any tobacco product – even smokeless (dip or chew) – puts you at higher risk for heart attacks, heart disease, and artery damage.

How does tobacco cause heart disease?

The chemicals in tobacco smoke inflame your blood vessels, causing them to thicken. And smoking increases your risk of blood clots. These changes mean less blood and oxygen flow to all parts of your body. A heart attack is when the flow of blood and oxygen are cut off to the heart. A stroke is when this happens in the brain.

Chemicals in tobacco also:

• increase your cholesterol levels

• raise your heart rate and blood pressure

• lower the amount of oxygen getting to your blood from your lungs

What happens if I don’t quit?

• You more than double your risk for dying from heart attack or stroke. On average, people who smoke die 10 years earlier than those who don’t.

• You increase your risk of diabetes – another risk factor for heart disease.

• It will be harder to control your cholesterol, heart rate, and blood pressure.

• You have an increased risk of having an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). This is a bulge in the aorta, a major artery that can burst suddenly.

What happens if I do quit?

• Your risk for heart attack and stroke drops as soon as you quit. If you don’t smoke for 1 year, your risk for heart attack is cut in half. In 5 to 15 years after you quit, your risk is nearly as low as someone who never smoked.

• There is more oxygen in your body. Your body needs it needs for energy and healing. This will make you feel better.

How can I get help quitting tobacco?

• Enroll in the Quitline. Call 1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669). It’s free!

• Find information, apps, and text-to-quit support online at www.smokefree.gov.

• Talk to you healthcare provider about medicines and other local resources to help you quit and stay quit.