An Overview of Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease is a name used to describe any condition that affects the heart ("cardio") or blood vessels ("vascular"). There are over 60 types of cardiovascular disease. The two most common and deadly types are
coronary artery disease (which most people just call
heart disease) and
stroke. In fact, these two types of cardiovascular diseases are the first and third most common causes of death in the United States, respectively. In this article, "cardiovascular disease" refers to these types of cardiovascular disease.
Tracing the History Between Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease
The link between smoking and cardiovascular disease was first noted back in the 1960s.
Research scientists found that smoking was a major cause of diseases of blood vessels both inside and outside the heart. Since then, even more research has shown that smoking and cardiovascular disease go hand in hand.
Smoking is now considered one of the major
risk factors for cardiovascular disease that a person can control (the others are
high blood pressure,
high cholesterol,
diabetes, obesity, and physical inactivity). A person who smokes and has additional cardiovascular risk factors is at even greater risk. In addition, the risk is not just with people who smoke. Those exposed to secondhand smoke are also at greater risk of developing and dying from cardiovascular disease.
The chances of developing cardiovascular disease increases with total lifetime exposure to cigarette smoke. This includes:
- The number of cigarettes a person smokes each day
- The intensity of smoking (that is, the size and frequency of puffs)
- The age at which smoking began
- The number of years a person has smoked
- A smoker's secondhand smoke exposure.
Smoking low-tar or low-nicotine cigarettes rather than regular cigarettes appears to have little effect on reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
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