smoking a deadly source of heart attack

Each year, tobacco smoking
accounts for around
approximately 20% of all heart
disease deaths. What is
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)?
CHD has two principal forms -
angina and heart attacks. Both
occur because the arteries
carrying blood to the heart
muscle become blocked or
narrowed, usually by a deposit
of fatty substances, a process
known as at ATHEROSCLEROSIS.
Angina is a severe pain in the
chest brought on by exertion
and relieved by rest. A heart
attack is due to obstruction of a
coronary artery either as a
result of atherosclerosis or a
blood clot: part of the heart
muscle is deprived of oxygen
and dies. Risk factors for
Coronary Heart Disease
Cigarette smoking, raised blood
cholesterol and high blood
pressure are the most firmly
established, non-hereditary risk
factors leading to CHD with
cigarette smoking being the
"most important of the known
modifiable risk factors for CHD",
according to the US Surgeon
General. A cigarette smoker has
two to three times the risk of
having a heart attack than a
non-smoker. If both of the
other main risk factors are
present then the chances of
having a heart attack can be
increased eight times. At least
80% of heart attacks in men
under 45 are thought to be due
to cigarette smoking. At this
age, heavy smokers have 10 to
15 times the rate of fatal heart
attacks of non- smokers. Even
light smokers are at increased
risk of CHD: a US study found
that women who smoked 1-4
cigarettes a day had a 2.5-fold
increased risk of fatal coronary
heart disease. The role of
smoking in Coronary Heart
Disease Inhaling tobacco smoke
causes several immediate
responses within the heart and
its blood vessels. Within one
minute of starting to smoke,
the heart rate begins to rise: it
may increase by as much as 30
percent during the first 10
minutes of smoking. Smoking
also raises blood pressure:
blood vessels constrict which
forces the heart to work harder
to deliver oxygen to the rest of
the body. Meanwhile, carbon
monoxide in tobacco smoke
exerts a negative effect on the
heart by reducing the blood's
ability to carry oxygen. Smoking
and arterial disease Smoking
tends to increase blood
cholesterol levels. Cigarette
smokers also have raised
fibrinogen levels and platelet
counts which make the blood
more sticky. Carbon monoxide
attaches itself to haemoglobin
much more easily than oxygen
does. This reduces the amount
of oxygen available to the
tissues. All these factors make
smokers more at risk of
developing various forms of
atherosclerotic disease. As the
atherosclerotic process
progresses, blood flows less
easily through rigid and
narrowed arteries and the
blood is more likely to form a
thrombosis (clot). This sudden
blockage of an artery may lead
to a fatal heart attack, a stroke
or gangrene of the leg.
Aneurysm Is a ballooning of the
wall of an artery which leads to
risk of bursting or clotting,
which may lead to catastrophic
results. Smokers are very much
more likely to die from a
ruptured aneurysm of the
abdominal aorta than non-
smokers. Peripheral vascular
disease (PVD) Smokers have a
16 times greater risk of
developing peripheral vascular
disease (blocked blood vessels
in the legs or feet) than people
who have never smoked.
Smokers who ignore the
warning of early symptoms and
continue to smoke are more
likely to develop gangrene of a
leg. Cigarette smoking
combines with other factors to
multiply the risks of
atherosclerosis. Patients who
continue to smoke after
surgery for PVD are more likely
to relapse, leading to
amputation, and are more
likely to die earlier.10
Thromboangiitis Obliterans
(Buerger's Disease) This is a
rare form of PVD, and is
virtually always due to heavy
cigarette smoking. It consists of
an inflammatory condition of
small vessels that leads to
blocking of the arteries and
gangrene. Few sufferers are
able to stop and many of them
end up with multiple
amputations. Stroke Smokers
are more likely to develop a
cerebral thrombosis (stroke)
than non-smokers. A form of
cerebral haemorrhage
(subarachnoid) is more
common in smokers, especially
among women who also take
the contraceptive pill.
Posted by DR JAY at 10:22 AM
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Facts About Heart
Disease And Women
Kicking The Smoking Habit
CORONARY HEART DISEASE is a
woman's concern. Every
woman's concern. One in ten
American women 45 to 64
years of age has some form of
heart disease, and this
increases to one in five women
over 65. Another 1.6 million
women have had a stroke. Both
heart disease and stroke are
known as cardiovascular
diseases, which are serious
disorders of the heart and
blood vessel system. Cigarette
smoking is a habit that greatly
increases the chances of
developing cardiovascular
diseases. Surprising as it may
seem, smoking by women in
some countries causes almost
as many deaths from heart
disease as from lung cancer. If
you smoke, you are two to six
times more likely to suffer a
heart attack than a non-
smoking woman, and the risk
increases with the number of
cigarettes you smoke each day.
Smoking also boosts the risk of
stroke. The big question is why
do you have to smoke is it for
fun or for a purpose?
Mon