Smoking, Heart Disease and Stroke...Stop Today!

Smoking is a major cause of Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) and causes one of every three deaths from Heart Disease. Smoking can:

• Raise triglycerides (a type of fat in your blood)
• Lower "good" cholesterol (HDL)
• Make blood sticky and more likely to clot, which can block blood flow to the heart and brain
• Damage cells that line the blood vessels
• Increase the buildup of plaque (fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances) in blood vessels
• Cause thickening and narrowing of blood vessels

The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke

Breathing secondhand smoke also harms your health. Secondhand smoke is the smoke from burning tobacco products. Secondhand smoke also is smoke breathed out by a smoker.
Breathing secondhand smoke can cause coronary heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.Know the facts:

• Secondhand smoke causes nearly 34,000 early deaths from coronary heart disease each year in the United States among nonsmokers.
• Nonsmokers who breathe secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25–30%. Secondhand smoke increases the risk for stroke by 20−30%.
• Each year, secondhand smoke exposure causes more than 8,000 deaths from stroke.
• Breathing secondhand smoke interferes with the normal functioning of the heart, blood, and vascular systems in ways that increase your risk of having a heart attack.
• Even briefly breathing secondhand smoke can damage the lining of blood vessels and cause your blood to become stickier. These changes can cause a deadly heart attack.

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FREE Smoking Cessation Program

Quitting smoking is possible, but it can be hard. Millions of people have quit smoking successfully and remain nonsmokers. Surveys of current adult smokers find that 70 percent say they want to quit.

Contact Ann Weaver at the Allegany Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse for upcoming class information at 585-593-1920.

Benefits of Quitting Smoking

One of the best ways to reduce your risk of nis to avoid tobacco smoke.Don’t ever start smoking. If you already smoke, quit. No matter how much or how long you’ve smoked, quitting will benefit you.

Also, try to avoid secondhand smoke. Don’t go to places where smoking is allowed. Ask friends and family members to not smoke in the house and car.
Quitting smoking will benefit your heart and blood vessels. For example:

• Among persons diagnosed with coronary heart disease, quitting smoking greatly reduces the risk of recurrent heart attack and cardiovascular death. In many studies, this reduction in risk has been 50 percent or more.
• Heart disease risk associated with smoking begins to decrease soon after you quit, and for many people it continues to decrease over time.
• Your risk of atherosclerosis and blood clots related to smoking declines over time after you quit smoking.

Quitting smoking can lower your risk of heart disease as much as, or more than, common medicines used to lower heart disease risk, including aspirin, statins, beta blockers, and ACE inhibitors.