| Tobacco Use and Heart Disease
Fact Sheet
While smoking cigarettes has been labeled
“the single most preventable cause of disease and deaths in
the United States” by the Surgeon General, smokeless tobacco
should not be considered a safe alternative to cigarettes. Smokeless
tobacco increases the risk of high blood pressure which can lead
to cardiovascular disease. Smokeless tobacco also increases the
chances of cardiovascular stroke. All forms of tobacco use increase
risk factors associated with coronary heart disease.(5)
Key Tobacco Use and Heart Disease
Statistics
- As many as 30 percent of all coronary
heart disease (CHD) deaths in the United States each year are
attributable to cigarette smoking (2)· Those who quit smoking
significantly reduce their risk of dying from heart disease (5)
- Smoking-caused heart disease results in
more deaths per year that smoking-caused lung cancer 4
- Tobacco use increases blood pressure (1)
- Tobacco use increases blood clotting tendencies
(1)
- Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives
greatly increase their risk of CHD and stroke (4)
- Smokers’ risk of developing CHD
is two to four times greater than that of non-smokers (3)
- Stopping tobacco use can be beneficial
to those who already have heart disease (5)
- People who stop tobacco use can cut their
risk of having another heart attack of dying of heart disease
in half (5)
For more information on the correlation between
tobacco use and heart disease please visit www.adha.org
or see your local dental hygienists. For information on tobacco
cessation please visit www.askadviserefer.org.
References:
1. American Heart Association, Inc., Cigarette
Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease, July 18, 2005)
2. American Heart Association, Inc., Circulation,
1997; 96:3243-3247, “Cigarette Smoking, Cardiovascular Disease,
and Stroke A Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American
Heart Association, 1997
3. American Heart Association, Inc., Risk
Factors and Coronary Heart Disease, July 18, 2005
4. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services,
State Cardiovascular Disease Highlights, 1997, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion, 1997
5. West Virginia Department of Health
and Human Services, A Program Plan for Reducing Heart Disease in
West Virginia, 1997
-
30 - |
