Smoking and Tobacco

How to Quit Smoking and Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

Smoking is one of the most important preventable cause of premature death in the US. Each year 430,700 deaths are reported due to smoking. Smoking increases the risk of:

Heart attack
Stroke
COPD
Cancer

Cigarette Smoking and Heart Attack

Cigarette Smoking is the most important risk factor for coronary artery disease that you can change. Regardless of your age, cigarette smoking increases your risk cardiovascular disease. In women who smoke and use the pill, the risk of cardiovascular disease is greatly increased. When you smoke it decreases HDL (good cholesterol) and increases LDL (bad cholesterol)

Cigar and Pipe Smoking

Cigar and pipe smoking present a risk of death from coronary artery disease and stroke, however, that risk is not as high as cigarette smokers. In part, this may be due to users being less likely to inhale smoke.

Passive or Secondhand Smoking

Passive or secondhand smoke also presents a risk of death from coronary artery disease and stroke, however, that risk is not as high as cigarette smokers. An estimated 40,000 people die due to secondhand smoke each year.

Causes of Nicotine Addiction

Nicotine is an addictive drug. When you try to quit, the withdrawal symptoms that occur are rather unpleasant. They include:

Irritability
Hostility
Anxiety
Depressed mood
Difficulty concentrating
Decreased heart rate
Increased appetite or weight gain

What Smoking Does to the Body

The carbon monoxide in smoke decreases the amount of oxygen in the blood and increases fatty acids and sugar in the blood. Another substance in cigarettes is nicotine. Nicotine causes:

Increased heart rate
Increased blood pressure
Arteries to narrow

Nicotine increases the risk of heart attack by:

Encouraging fatty buildup in arteries
Producing carbon monoxide, which may damage inner walls of arteries
Causing vessels to narrow and harden
Causing a change in blood that make clots

How You Can Quit Smoking

Step One

List reasons to quit and read them daily
Wrap your cigarette pack with paper and rubber bands
When you smoke, write down the time of day, how you feel and how important the cigarette is to you (scale 1-5)
Rewrap the pack

Step Two

Keep reading your list reasons to quit and add to them
Don't carry matches and keep cigarettes out of reach
Each day try to smoke fewer cigarettes (the ones that aren't most important based on your rating scale)

Step Three

Continue step two
Don't buy a new pack until you finish the one your smoking
Change brands to one lower in tar and nicotine
Try to stop for 48 hours at one time

Step Four

Quit smoking completely
Increase your physical activity
Avoid situations you relate to smoking
Find a healthy substitute for smoking
Do deep breathing exercises when you get the urge

If You Smoke after Quitting

This doesn't mean you're a smoker again – do something right away to get back on track
Don't punish yourself
Think about why you stopped smoking
Decide what you will do the next time it comes up
Sign a contract to be a nonsmoker

Life After Quitting

Sense of smell comes back
Smokers cough goes away
Will digest food easier
Breathe much easier
Easier to climb stairs
Live longer and have less chance of heart disease, lung disease and cancer

Handling the Stress of Not Smoking

Try deep breathing
Set aside 20 minutes for relaxation each day
Think positive!
Listen to relaxation tapes
Exercise

Nicotine Substitutes

Nicotine gum and patches
Wellbutrin
Hypnosis

For more information on Cardiac Rehabilitation, see these related NetWellness features:

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This article is a NetWellness exclusive. NetWellness Article

Last Reviewed: Apr 01, 2006

Karen Kutoloski, DO
Director, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Assistant Professor
Heart and Vascular Center
MetroHealth Medical Center
School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University