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Medical Video: Life's Simple 7: Stop Smoking
If you smoke, your chance of dying from a heart attack is 2 to 3 times greater than non-smokers. About 1 in 4 heart attacks is believed to be directly related to smoking.
Smoking is a risk factor that is far more important for heart attacks than high cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure, and stress. Exercise and a good diet cannot reduce the risk for your heart caused by smoking.
Smoking several cigarettes a day (1 to 4) increases the risk of coronary artery disease. If people who smoke have a heart attack, the risk of experiencing sudden death can be two times greater than the risk of non-smokers.
After you stop smoking
Your risk of having a heart attack decreases by half after 2 years you stop smoking. After 15 years you quit, the risk of your heart attack is the same as someone who never smoked.
Even if you have had a heart attack, quitting smoking will reduce your risk of having a second heart attack. Even if you gain weight when you stop, the risk of a heart attack can be reduced.
The most important thing is how quickly you stop smoking. People who stop smoking before age 50 can reduce half the risk of death in the next 15 years compared to smokers. But if you stop smoking before the age of 35, almost all risks of smoking can be lost.
If you already have coronary artery disease, the risk of a second heart attack and death suddenly decreases when you stop smoking.
Someone who smokes has twice the chance to die from a stroke than a non-smoker. After you stop, the risk of stroke slowly decreases over time.
