How Does Smoking Affect Your Heart?

Health risks of smoking are widely known, and its connection to breathing problems and lung cancer is prominent. But smoking's impact reaches far beyond your lungs. Cigarette smoking harms nearly every other organ in your body, including your heart.

In general, smoking causes blood to thicken, increasing the risk of blood clots and damage to blood vessel walls. This can lead to a condition called atherosclerosis, a disease in which plaque builds up in the arteries, eventually narrowing them and limiting the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your heart. Smoking also can cause heart disease or eventually lead to chest pain, heart failure or a heart attack.

According to a multi-study analysis by The BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal), smoking as little as one cigarette per day carries a 50% higher risk of developing coronary artery disease and 30% higher risk of stroke compared to those who have never smoked. When combined with other unhealthy lifestyle factors such as unhealthy cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and obesity, the risk for heart disease grows even more.

The good news is that heart disease risk drops dramatically within the first year a person quits smoking. Quitting smoking can even lower your risk more than common medicines used to lower heart disease risk, such as aspirin or beta blockers.

Whether you're a constant smoker, trying to quit or previously have quit, learn more about your risk factors for developing heart disease by taking our heart health assessment. You'll find out your heart's real age and what you can do now to reduce your risk of developing heart disease in the future.

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Why Choose Us?

Woodland Heights Cardiology is affiliated with Woodland Heights Medical Center. With a combination of medical technology and well-trained, caring team members, the facility provides a spectrum of cardiac services, including emergency care, diagnostic and interventional cardiology.

Woodland Heights Medical Center also holds several accreditations:

  • HeartCARE Center (American College of Cardiology - ACC)
  • Chest Pain Center with PCI (ACC)
  • Cardiac Cath Lab with PCI (ACC)
  • Electrophysiology (ACC)
  • Gold Seal of Approval in Heart Failure (The Joint Commission)

Our Services Include:

Our services include diagnosis and management of a wide range of cardiovascular diseases, including complex coronary and peripheral arterial disease, heart failure and chronic venous disease. Treatments and procedures provided include:

  • Cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography
  • Coronary angioplasty and stenting
  • Carotid angiography
  • Ankle to brachial index (ABI)
  • Aneurysm screening
  • Transthoracic 2D echocardiography, Doppler and color flow
  • Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
  • Stress echocardiography
  • Nuclear stress testing
  • Treadmill stress testing
  • Transesophageal echocardiography
  • Venous and arterial ultrasound interpretation
  • Diagnostic peripheral angiography
  • Peripheral angioplasty and stenting
  • Coronary atherectomy (rotational)
  • Peripheral atherectomy (orbital, rotational, laser)
  • Peripheral vascular lithotripsy
  • Inferior vena cava filter placement and/or retrieval
  • Pulmonary angiography and/or embolectomy
  • Superficial vein sclerotherapy and/or ablation
  • Deep vein venography
  • Deep vein venoplasty and stenting
  • Intra-aortic balloon pump insertion
  • Percutaneous left ventricular assist device insertion
  • Temporary pacemaker implantation
  • Arterial-venous fistula angioplasty
  • Pelvic congestion syndrome treatment
  • Chronic lymphedema treatment
  • Endovascular treatment for chronic ulceration and/or critical limb ischemia
  • Acute limb ischemia treatment
  • Electrocardiogram monitor and loop record implantation
  • Electrical cardioversion
  • Endomyocardial biopsy
  • Intracoronary mechanical thrombectomy
  • Mesenteric ischemia treatment
  • Renal artery angioplasty/stenting

Heart Healthy Resources

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Is High Blood Pressure Considered Heart Disease?

Finding out you have high blood pressure can be worrisome if you aren’t sure what your numbers mean or what to do about them. Discover how high blood pressure affects your heart.
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Healthy Connections

How Does Smoking Affect Your Heart?

Smoking’s impact reaches far beyond your lungs, harming nearly every other organ in the body. Get the specifics on how smoking can influence your heart’s health.
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Why Your Heart Wants You to Pay Attention to Your Cholesterol

Your liver makes cholesterol in your body, but you also get cholesterol from eating certain foods. Find out how the wrong kind of cholesterol can impact your heart.
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