Smoking and Your Heart: Shocking findings by researchers show one out of every two men and one out of every three women aged 40 and under will develop Coronary Heart Disease. The study, conducted by researchers at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institutes' Framingham Heart Study begun 50 years ago is the first to quantify how alarming the national lifetime risk for developing heart disease has become. These are not heart-warming facts.
Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans today, affecting 12 to 13 million people. It is what occurs when the coronary arteries become clogged or narrowed and is unable to supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart. Heart disease can lead to chest pain, commonly called angina, and then heart attacks. People are more likely to die from heart disease than cancer, stroke, lung diseases or accidents combined. Each year, almost 500,000 Americans die from Coronary Heart Disease.
Older Americans aged 70 and up still remain at high risk. One of every three men and one of every four women in this age group of older Americans will develop Coronary Heart Disease in their remaining years of life.
Heart attack is the leading cause of death among American women. According to the American Heart Association, about 19,990 females under age 65 die of heart attack each year; more than 31% of them are under age 55. Perhaps because of rampant misdiagnosis and inadequate preventive and follow-up care, 44% of women who have heart attacks die within a year, compared to 27% of men. In fact, heart disease kills more women each year than all forms of cancer, chronic lung disease, pneumonia, diabetes, accidents and AIDS.
Claude Lenfant, M.D., the NHLBI Director said, "This study shows why it is so important for adults of all ages to take steps to prevent heart disease. Even young adults should know their cholesterol and blood pressure numbers, eat in a heart-healthy way, be physically active and watch their weight to reduce their lifetime risk of the disease."
Smoking, high cholesterol and a family history of heart disease are all Risk factors for heart disease (the latter is much more of an indicator in women than in men). Others risk factors are:
Women with symptoms of heart disease or strong risk factors should get tested, even if they are pre-menopausal, according to the American Heart Association. Individuals may have lower or higher absolute lifetime risks depending upon the above risk factors.
What does this mean to the smoker and those who have stopped smoking? The American Heart Association notes that:
smokers' risk of heart attack is more than twice that of nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking is the biggest risk factor for sudden cardiac death: smokers have two to four times the risk of nonsmokers. Smokers who have a heart attack are more likely to die and die suddenly (within an hour) than are nonsmokers.
Available evidence also indicates that chronic exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (secondhand smoke, passive smoking) may increase the risk of heart disease.
To prevent and eradicate heart disease:
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improve your dietary habits
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start an exercise program
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start a weight reducing regime
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monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol
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and most importantly: quit smoking.
Quitting smoking now not only reduces your risk for developing coronary heart disease, but also lung cancer, chronic lung diseases, and many other diseases and conditions as well. The fact remains constant that quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do for yourself and your health today. It is far better to be a quitter than to join a group nobody wants to belong to: in the company of these folks you knew and admired or respected. | 
