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| SMOKING AND DISEASE
Smoking or being exposed to high amounts of environmental tobacco smoke causes several temporary effects on a person's heart and blood vessels. The nicotine in the smoke temporarily increases the blood pressure, the heart rate, the amount of blood pumped by the heart and the blood flow ion the heart's arteries. It also causes the arteries in the arms and legs to narrow. Smoking doesn't cause high blood pressure, but it does increase the risk of developing CVD in people with high blood pressure. Atherosclerosis
Smoking and the Birth Control Pill Women who take the Pill and also smoke cigarettes increase their risk of heart attack several times. Low-Tar and Low-Nicotine Cigarettes No cigarette is safe. Scientists have found no evidence that low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Many smokers who've switched to low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes smoke more cigarettes and inhale more deeply to make up for the reduced nicotine. This can create new problems, because tar and nicotine aren't the only harmful substances in tobacco smoke. Source: American Heart Association, For more information call 1-800-AHA-USA-1(1-800-242-8721) or at www.americanheart.org |
TAKE THE POLL
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For years the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer and chronic lung disease has been well documented and well known. Most people people still associate cigarette smoking with breathing problems. But that's not the whole story.
Arthrosclerosis occurs when fatty deposits build up on the inner walls of the arteries. This causes them to narrow and become less elastic. When this happens the heart must work harder to pump blood through the narrow channels. Clogged arteries are the major cause of heart attack and stroke.