8. Smoking: The Cloudy Killer
No discussion on heart attack causes would be complete without mentioning smoking. Both active and passive smoking are heavily implicated in cardiovascular disease, with smokers being two to four times more likely to develop heart disease than nonsmokers. Smoking damages the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attacks, among other health issues.
When a person smokes, they inhale a cocktail of over 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic and damage the heart and blood vessels. Nicotine, the addictive substance in cigarettes, raises your blood pressure, accelerates your heart rate, and narrows your arteries. The carbon monoxide in smoke replaces some of the oxygen in your blood, forcing your heart to work harder to supply enough oxygen.
Moreover, smoking also damages the lining of your arteries, leading to a buildup of fatty material (atheroma), which narrows the artery. This can cause angina, a heart attack, or a stroke. The more you smoke, the higher the risk of a heart attack.
Apart from the direct effects, smoking also exacerbates other risk factors for heart disease. It decreases your tolerance for physical activity and increases the tendency for blood to clot. It also reduces HDL (good) cholesterol, increases LDL (bad) cholesterol, and raises the levels of certain fats circulating in the bloodstream.
Quitting smoking can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease, regardless of how long you’ve been a smoker. In fact, just one year after quitting smoking, your risk of heart disease is about half that of a smoker. (8)
