Why You Really Need To Stop: What Are The Benefits Of Quitting Smoking After A Heart Attack?

Smoking is one of the main risk factors for heart disease. It's no secret that non-smokers are more likely to have a healthy heart than people who puff away all day. Thankfully, quitting smoking can render immediate health benefits. All current smokers should strongly consider stopping, but surviving a heart attack is a real wake-up call and, frankly, a second chance at life. If you've made it through one, now's the time to radically revaluate your life and stop doing things that damage your health. 

The dangers of smoking

Smoking affects a person’s heart in more ways than one. Each cigarette causes a temporary spike in blood pressure and also makes the heart beat faster. This puts a lot of unnecessary strain on the heart, which eventually weakens it. But plenty of other health problems can arise from smoking, such as:

• Lung damage. The nicotine that you breathe in is combined with a plethora of other chemicals that could lead to lung cancer. In fact, nine out of 10 lung cancer deaths are smoking-related.
• Different forms of cancer. Smokers are likely to develop other types of cancer as well, such as throat, kidney, cervical, colon, or liver cancer.
• Poor oral hygiene. Smokers are more likely to end up having gum disease. Smoking causes teeth to become more sensitive, can make one bleed while brushing their teeth.
• Vision complications. Smoking is also linked to different eye problems, such as glaucoma or dry eyes. People who have been smoking for a very long time are more likely to end up having cataracts.
• Pregnancy-related issues. There is a good reason why doctors advise pregnant women not to smoke. Not only does smoking lead to fertility problems in both men and women, but women who are expecting and continue to smoke can end up reducing the baby’s birth weight, have a higher risk of ectopic pregnancy, may be contributing to congenital abnormalities in their babies, and can also increase the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

When you quit smoking: What to expect

From the moment you quit smoking, your body starts working to reverse the effects. One of the most encouraging things about quitting smoking is the following timeline, with milestones that show exactly how much the body can recover from this nasty habit:

• Twenty minutes after your last cigarette, your blood pressure returns to normal and your heartbeats become more regular.
• Eight hours after quitting smoking, the levels of carbon monoxide in your body return to normal as well. In translation, your body’s oxygen returns to a normal level, meaning that your blood vessels and your tissues are more nourished.
• One day after quitting smoking, your risk of a heart attack decreases. The arteries and veins are less constricted. There is also way less nicotine in your bloodstream at this point.
• Two days after quitting smoking, your body starts to repair any potential nerve damage. It’s also common for people to realize that they no longer have that fowl cigarette taste in their mouths.
• Three days after quitting smoking, you will notice an improvement in your breathing. At this point, your bronchial tubes have opened up enough to allow air to pass freely to the lungs. It’s also when your lung capacity starts to increase.
• One week after quitting smoking, you are less likely to light up a cigarette. Studies have shown that people who make it one week without smoking are nine times more likely to quit for good compared to those who have recently smoked.
• Two weeks after you quit smoking, you may notice that you’re walking easier, which is due to improved oxygenation and circulation. Your lung function has increased with up to 30 percent in these first two cigarette-free weeks.
• After about a month, you start feeling more energized. It’s when all the symptoms of a cigarette-free life seem to surface at once. You are less likely to experience shortness of breath, sinus congestion, and feel more energetic and open to the idea of exercise. It’s also when lung fibers start growing back, which helps protect against bacterial infections.
• Three months after quitting smoking, women have increased fertility.
• Six months after you quit smoking, you will notice an improvement in your mental health. You are no longer tempted to pick up a cigarette when you feel stressed. You won’t be coughing as much either.
• One year after you’ve quit smoking, your lung capacity has drastically increased. You are able to exercise as most non-smokers — without any couching or exertion.
• Five years after you’ve quit smoking, your risk of lung cancer has dropped by 50 percent.
• A decade after you’ve quit smoking, your risk of developing lung cancer is the same as that of a non-smoker.
• Fifteen years after quitting smoking, you will have eliminated the risk of a smoking-related heart attack and stroke. As far as medicine is concerned, your body is now that of a non-smoker.

Benefits of quitting after a heart attack

If you’ve suffered a heart attack and do not give up smoking:

• Your coronary artery disease will not improve. Smoke damages the inner lining of the artery walls, making it easier for cholesterol deposits to settle it.
• Smoking also makes it harder for blood to flow to the heart as it should. Smokers are more likely to end up having blood clots.
• Cigarettes decrease the oxygen levels in the bloodstream, forcing the heart to work harder in order to have a higher oxygen intake.
• The nicotine in cigarettes increases your blood pressure, which also makes your heart beast faster.

Conclusion

Being one of the main risk factors for a heart attack, smoking is one of the first things that you have to get out of your system if you’ve survived such a dramatic event. The best part about quitting smoking is that you will enjoy visible health improvements from the day after you stop.