 |
 |
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| National Center For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion | ||||||||
|
|
||||||||
| TIPS Home | What's New | Mission | Fact Sheets | Site Map | Contact Us | ||||||||
|
 |
|
 Previous| |
Page 4 of 13 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Next
 |
PDF-240K)Heart disease and stroke are cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) diseases caused by smoking. Heart disease and stroke are also the first and third leading causes of death in the United States.
More than 61 million people in the United States suffer from some form of heart and blood vessel disease. This includes high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, and congestive heart failure. Nearly 2,600 Americans die every day as a result of cardiovascular diseases. This is about 1 death every 33 seconds. You are up to four times more likely to die from heart disease if you smoke. In 2003, heart disease and stroke cost the United States an estimated $351 billion in health care costs and lost productivity from death and disability.
The link between smoking and heart disease was noted in the first Surgeon Generals report in 1964. Later reports revealed a much stronger connection. Researchers found that smoking is a major cause of diseases of blood vessels inside and outside the heart.
Most cases of these diseases are caused by atherosclerosis, a hardening and narrowing of the arteries. Damage to your arteries and blood clots that block blood flow can cause heart attacks or strokes.
Cigarette smoking speeds up this process even in smokers in their 20s. Cigarette smoke damages the cells lining the blood vessels and heart. The damaged tissue swells. This makes it hard for blood vessels to get enough oxygen to cells and tissues. Your heart and all parts of your body must have oxygen. Perhaps most important, cigarette smoking can increase your risk of dangerous blood clots, both because of swelling and redness and by causing blood platelets to clump together.
Cigarettes arent the only dangerous kind of tobacco. Even smokeless tobacco can lead to heart and blood vessel disease.
|
|
One or more documents on this Web page is available in Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need Acrobat Reader (a free application) to view and print these documents. |
|
|
|
Previous| |
Page 4 of 13 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Next
|
|
|
Privacy Policy | Accessibility TIPS Home | What's New | About Us | Site Map | Contact Us CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z This page last reviewed May 25, 2004 United States
Department of Health and Human Services |
|
