Smoking and cardiovascular risk: How does it affect your heart?
Smoking is one of the most important risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease. Smoking not only affects the lungs, but has a direct and devastating impact on the heart and arteries. Smoking significantly increases the likelihood of heart attacks, angina pectoris, arrhythmias and other serious cardiac complications.
How does smoking affect cardiovascular health?
When you smoke, the chemicals in tobacco, such as nicotine and carbon monoxide, damage the walls of your arteries, leading to the formation of atheromatous plaques. These plaques, combined with the reduction of oxygen in the blood caused by carbon monoxide, can obstruct blood flow to the heart, leading to coronary diseases such as heart attack or heart failure.
In addition, smoking increases heart rate and raises blood pressure, which forces the heart to work harder and wear out faster. These effects, together with damage to blood vessels, put smokers at high risk.
Benefits of quitting smoking for your heart
Quitting smoking is one of the most important changes you can make to protect your cardiovascular health. Within a few months of quitting, the risk of heart disease begins to drop significantly, and after several years, the risk can approach that of a non-smoker.
At INSCOR Cardiovascular CentreWe help you make the right choices to improve your health. Our team of specialists, such as Dr. Oller, cardiologist with extensive experience, will guide you through the process of recovering your heart health, offering you a personalised plan that may include stress tests, echocardiograms and other evaluations necessary to monitor the state of your heart.
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