Smoking and heart disease

Cigarette smoking is a major cause of heart attack, stroke and peripheral arterial disease. Smoking kills more than 15,000 Australians a year, or more than 40 Australians each day. Nearly 40 per cent of all people who die from smoking do so due to heart and blood vessel disease.

Smoking damages the heart and blood vessels

The heart relies on a generous supply of oxygen and nutrients from the two coronary arteries and their branches. Over the years, fatty deposits (called plaque or atheroma) build up inside one or more of the coronary arteries (a process called atherosclerosis). This narrowing of the arteries reduces the flow of blood to the heart, starving the heart muscle (myocardial) cells of oxygen and nutrients. Smoking speeds up the clogging and narrowing of coronary arteries.

A heart attack occurs when a blood clot forms at a narrowed point in a coronary artery and suddenly blocks the flow of blood to the heart. If the artery remains blocked, the lack of blood supply permanently damages the area of heart muscle supplied by that artery. The severity of the heart attack depends on how much heart muscle is permanently damaged.

Smoking also damages (and speeds up atherosclerosis in) other blood vessels. This can reduce blood circulation, particularly to your hands and feet (called peripheral arterial disease). Peripheral arterial disease can result in blood clots, infection, gangrene and even amputation.

Some facts about cigarette smoke

Cigarette smoke contains thousands of chemicals including:

• Nicotine – an addictive drug that affects brain and muscle activity and increases your blood pressure, making your heart work harder
• Carbon monoxide – a poisonous gas that replaces oxygen in your blood, making your heart beat faster
• Tar – a sticky substance that coats your lungs like soot in a chimney, making it harder for you to breathe, and that contains dozens of chemicals that cause cancer.

Cigarette smoking – the risk factors explained

If you smoke you increase your risk of:

• Heart attack by two to six times
• Heart disease if you are a woman using the contraceptive pill
• Stroke by three times
• Peripheral arterial disease, which can lead to gangrene, by more than five times.

Secondhand smoke is also a health hazard

Exposure to secondhand smoke (passive smoking) is a serious health hazard for smokers and non-smokers. People who inhale smoke from others are at increased risk of disease.

• Non-smokers living with smokers have about a 30 per cent increase in risk of heart disease.
• Exposure to secondhand smoke is especially risky for children and babies, and increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), bronchitis, pneumonia and asthma.

Quit smoking and improve your health

Within one day of quitting smoking:

• Your heart rate slows down and your blood pressure drops slightly.
• Carbon monoxide is out of your blood.
• Oxygen levels in your blood rise.

Within two to three months:

• Your ability to smell and taste improves.
• Your lungs regain the ability to clean themselves, so you can cough up mucus.
• The blood flow to your hands and feet improves, so they won’t get so cold.

Within one year:

• Your risk of heart attach has greatly reduced.
• If you smoked a packet of 25s a day, you would have saved over $4,500.

Within two to six years:

• Your risk of developing coronary heart disease returns to a similar level as that of a non-smoker.

Where to get help

• Read the Heart Foundation’s booklet ‘Smoking and your health’. For a free single copy, email health@heartfoundation.org.au or call 1300 36 27 87.
• Consider nicotine replacement products (gums, patches or lozenges), or bupropion tablets. These products can increase your chances of quitting successfully.
• Discuss quitting smoking with your doctor or pharmacist. They can tell you about the options available to help you quit, and can help to check your progress.
• Talk to your family and friends and ask them for your support and encouragement.
• Read self-help materials and attend quit smoking courses.
• Call the Quitline Tel. 13 7848 (13 QUIT) for information and advice.

Things to remember

• Smoking kills more than 15,000 Australians a year.
• Breathing other people’s smoke (secondhand smoke) is harmful to smokers and non-smokers.
• Quitting smoking can be hard at first, but like learning to ride a bike, you can do it with planning, practice and help. Don’t give up.
• Every cigarette that you don’t smoke is doing you a great service.

You might also be interested in:

• Early death - how to reduce your risk.
  
• Early death in Victoria - causes.
  
• Heart disease - risk factors explained.
  
• Smoking - quitting tips.
  
• Smoking - the financial cost.
  
• Smoking and eye disease.
  
• Smoking tobacco is deadly.
  
• Stroke prevention.
  
• Stroke prevention for high risk groups.
  

Want to know more?

Go to More information for support groups, related links and references.

This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:

(Logo links to further information)

Heart Foundation

Fact sheet currently being reviewed.
Last reviewed: March 2010

Content on this website is provided for education and information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not imply endorsement and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional. Content has been prepared for Victorian residents and wider Australian audiences, and was accurate at the time of publication. Readers should note that, over time, currency and completeness of the information may change. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions.

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<a href="http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Smoking_and_heart_disease_the_facts?open">Smoking and heart disease - Better Health Channel</a><br/>
Cigarette smoking is a major cause of heart attack, stroke and peripheral arterial disease. Nearly 40 per cent of all people who die from smoking tobacco do so due to heart and blood vessel disease. A smoker's excess risk of heart attack reduces rapidly after only one year of not smoking.

Content on this website is provided for education and information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not imply endorsement and is not intended to replace advice from your qualified health professional. Content has been prepared for Victorian residence and wider Australian audiences, and was accurate at the time of publication. Readers should note that over time currency and completeness of the information may change. All users are urged to always seek advice from a qualified health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions.

For the latest updates and more information, visit www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au

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