Everyone knows that tobacco – found in cigarettes and chewing tobacco – is bad for you. Your health care provider most likely has cautioned you about its dangerous effects, however you can also learn something from the Surgeon General’s office and from numerous campaigns. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable heart disease and heart attacks in the United States and also in the rest of the world. By smoking you increase your risk of heart attack by at least 300%.
Smoking results in rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, and lessens the quantity of oxygen in your blood. Every one of these components mixed together place you at a greater risk of heart attack and disease.
Smoking includes utilizing pipes, cigarettes, and cigars. While many people think that the use of pipes and cigars is less of a risk, the truth is that they actually have higher concentrations of nicotine and other harmful chemicals.
People often think that using smokeless tobacco instead of smoking is healthier. This refers to tobacco in the form of snuff, dip, or chewing. You may think it’s safer, but in fact it’s still bad for you! As a matter of fact, if you utilize smokeless tobacco, it’s two times more probable that you’ll have a heart attack as opposed to an individual who does not. But if you are a smoker using smokeless tobacco you really have four times the chance to have a heart attack than a person who isn’t a tobacco user at all. And different from other addictions which can be alright in moderation, using tobacco definitely has no health advantages and there isn’t any safe level to use it.
There is some encouraging information, however. If you use tobacco, you can stop using it and tobacco’s effects will start lessening. As a light smoker, heart disease risk may be lessened to that of a nonsmoker in as few as 5 to 10 years without smoking. If you smoke a lot, you can decrease the risk somewhat but it might not be totally eliminated.
If you utilize any tobacco type, it’s time to stop. You don’t want to develop a heart condition, so stop that bad habit now. Unfortunately, many people wait to quit until they become sick. At that point there are many effects that are irreversible, though quitting will improve your chances of survival and your quality of life. But the sooner you quit, the better.
Preventing heart disease involves making long-term changes that will improve your heart health and decrease your risk of heart attack and stroke. There are even useful herbal remedies for heart disease that can keep you healthy. Learn how to get started on the path to Heart Wellness.