Understanding the Connection Between Heart Disease and Tobacco

By Keira Adams

Even those who love to smoke and chew tobacco are aware of its evil effects upon them. Your personal doctor has probably warned you about its harmful effects, but you can also find information from the Surgeon General's office and from campaigns all across the country. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable heart disease and heart attacks in the United States and also in the rest of the world. Smokers are three times more likely to suffer a heart attack than nonsmokers.

When you smoke, you are making your heart beat faster, you are decreasing the oxygen level in your blood, and you are creating a rise in your blood pressure. These factors in conjunction tremendously increase your risk of heart disease.

It doesn't matter what it is you light up, but in your mouth, it's still considered smoking. While many people think that the use of pipes and cigars is less of a risk, the truth is that they actually have higher concentrations of nicotine and other harmful chemicals.

A lot of the times individuals believe that utilizing smokeless tobacco rather than smoking is more healthful. This is any form of tobacco, whether you chew, smoke or sniff it. The truth is that this habit is also very harmful for your heart. In fact, if you use smokeless tobacco you're twice as likely to have a heart attack as someone who doesn't. But if you are a smoker using smokeless tobacco you really have four times the chance to have a heart attack than a person who isn't a tobacco user at all. And, in contrast to some habits which are all right if done moderately, using tobacco has no health advantages at all and doesn't have a safe level of utilization.

Yet, there's some positive news. If you're a tobacco user, you can quit this habit and the effects of tobacco will begin to be reduced. As a light smoker you can more easily become a non-smoker and within 5 to 10 years of quitting, you will become low risk as far as cardiac ailments are concerned. If you smoke heavily, you can lessen your risk a lot, yet it might not ever get totally eliminated.

If you utilize any tobacco type, it's time to stop. You don't want to develop a heart condition, so stop that bad habit now. Sadly, a large number of individuals wait to stop till they get ill. At this point, several effects aren't reversible, although stopping can enhance your opportunities of surviving and your life's quality. Yet the sooner you stop, the better off you will be. - 30310

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