Smoking is a major cause of heart and blood vessel disease.
Smoking kills more than 20,000 Australians a year (more than 55 people each day).
Smoking damages the heart and blood vessels
The coronary arteries supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients. Over time, fatty deposits ( plaque ) can build up inside the coronary arteries . This can reduce the flow of blood to the heart and increases the risk of heart attack. Smoking speeds up the clogging and narrowing of coronary arteries.
A heart attack happens when something, usually a blood clot, cuts off the flow of blood to the heart. Without oxygen and nutrients, the heart muscle begins to die. The severity of the heart attack depends on how much heart muscle is permanently damaged.
Smoking also damages other blood vessels. When the arteries supplying blood to the arms and legs are affected, this is called peripheral arterial disease which affects blood circulation. Peripheral arterial disease can lead to blood clots, gangrene and even amputation.
Some facts about tobacco smoke
Tobacco 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, reducing the supply of oxygen to your heart and other organs
- tar – a sticky substance that coats your lungs like soot in a chimney, making it harder for you to breathe. Tar contains dozens of chemicals that cause cancer.
The risks of tobacco smoking
If you smoke, your risk of:
• heart attack is more than twice as high as someone who does not smoke
• coronary heart disease is significantly increased if you are a woman using the oral contraceptive pill
• stroke is more than twice as high as someone who does not smoke
• peripheral arterial disease, which can lead to gangrene, is increased by more than five times.
Second-hand smoke is a health hazard
Exposure to second-hand smoke (passive smoking) is a serious health hazard for both people who smoke and non-smokers. Adults and children who inhale smoke from others are at increased risk of disease.
Non-smokers living with people who smoke have about a 30 per cent increase in the risk of heart disease.
Exposure to second-hand smoke is especially risky for children and babies, and increases the risk of sudden unexplained death in infants (SUDI), 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 becomes more stable
- carbon monoxide levels in your blood have dropped
- oxygencan reach your heart and other parts of your body more easily.
Within two to three months:
- your ability to smell and taste improves
- your lungs start to 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 lungs are healthier and you’ll be able to breathe more easily
- if you smoked a packet of 25 cigarettes a day, you would have saved over $17,000.
Within two to six years:
- your risk of a heart attack or stroke drops significantly, compared to if you continued smoking. The risk continues to decrease over time.
Where to get help
