Smoking and Heart Disease

Smoking is a major risk factor that contributes to a form of heart disease called cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death in Canada.

What is cardiovascular disease?

• Cardiovascular disease is defined as diseases and injuries of the heart, the blood vessels of the heart, and the system of blood vessels (veins and arteries) throughout the body and within the brain.
• Although there are many aspects of this disease, the fundamental problem is that the supply of oxygen and the necessary nutrients carried by our blood are constricted or blocked. This causes injury to our heart muscles.
• Smoking, or even exposure to second-hand smoke, makes the heart work harder by: ¹,²
• decreasing the oxygen carried in the blood - carbon monoxide and other gases replace oxygen with each inhalation of cigarette smoke;
• Increasing the heart rate - the heart beats faster to get more oxygen by accessing a greater volume of oxygen-poor blood;
  
• Decreasing the size of blood vessels - a buildup of fat deposits associated with nicotine and carbon monoxide makes blood vessels and arteries smaller which limits the blood supply to the heart.
  

Facts

• Cigarette smoking is a well-known risk factor that contributes to, and significantly, increases the chance of having cardiovascular disease.¹,³
• In 1996, cardiovascular disease accounted for 37% of all deaths in Canada. While more men than women died of heart disease (22% versus 19%), more women died of stroke (9% versus 6%).²
• The buildup of fat deposits in the blood supply system is called Coronary Artery Disease (sometimes called Coronary Heart Disease or C.H.D.) and can eventually lead to blocked blood vessels and arteries, which, in turn, can cause permanent damage to the heart muscles.⁴,⁵
• The damage to the heart muscles because of a lack of oxygen can result in a heart attack.
• The risk of developing Coronary Heart Disease increases with the length and intensity of exposure to cigarette smoke. ³,⁵
• Smokers have a 70% greater chance of dying from Coronary Heart Disease than non-smokers. ³,⁵
• Smoking more than 40 cigarettes per day increases the chance of dying by 200 to 300% in comparison with non-smokers.³,⁵
• Among people younger than 65, 45% of Coronary Heart Disease in men and 40% in women is caused by cigarette smoking.
• Among people 65 or older, 15% of Coronary Heart Disease in men and 9% in women is caused by smoking.⁶
• Stopping smoking reduces the risk of smoking-related cardiovascular disease by approximately 50% within one year, and to normal levels (i.e. people who never smoked) within five years.⁷
  

References

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Cancer Institute. Changes in Cigarette-Related Disease Risks and Their Implication for Prevention and Control. National Institutes of Health. N.I.H. Publication No. 97-4213. Washington, D.C. February 1997.
2. Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Heart Disease and Stroke in Canada. Ottawa, 1997.
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: Cardiovascular Disease. A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office on Smoking and Health, 1984. D.H.H.S. Publication No. (P.H.S.) 84-50204.
4. Gunther, A., Palmblad, J. New Discoveries Explain How Smoking Accelerates Atherosclerosis. Lakartidningen, February 2000; 97(5):4445-7.
5. McGill, H.C. Jr, McMahan, C.A., Herderick, E.E. et al. Effects of Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors on Atherosclerosis of Selected Regions of the Aorta and Right Coronary Artery. Artherioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. March 2000; 20(3):836-845.
6. English, D.R., Holman, C.D.J., Milne, E., Winter, M.G., Hulse, G.K., Codde, J.P., Bower, C.I., Corti, B., de Klerk, N., Knuiman, M.W., Kurinczuk, J.J., Lewin, G.F, Ryan, G.A. The quantification of drug caused morbidity and mortality in Australia, 1995 Edition. Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health, 1995.
7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Cancer Institute. Changes in Cigarette-Related Disease Risks and Their Implication for Prevention and Control. National Institutes of Health. N.I.H. Publication No. 97-4213. Washington, D.C. February 1997.