If you smoke, quitting smoking is the single most important thing you can do to improve your heart health. When cigarette smoke is inhaled directly or through second-hand exposure, carbon monoxide and other gases replace some of the oxygen carried in the blood. In addition, fat deposits on vessel walls associated with nicotine and carbon monoxide exposure, make blood vessels and arteries narrower. The result is a limited blood supply to the heart and an increased risk of damage to the heart muscle itself.

When you quit smoking, the risk of smoking-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) is reduced. The sooner you quit, the better off your heart health will be. In fact quitting smoking reduces the risk of CVD by 50% in one year.  Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT) such as the patch, gum, and inhaler can help to relieve the withdrawal symptoms of quitting. Another smoking cessation therapy that you might want to ask your health care provider about is Champix™. This new product comes in pill form and produces much the same desired response as nicotine and prevents nicotine from binding with certain receptors in the brain. All these products are more effective in helping you quit if combined with a smoking cessation program. For more information on Tobacco and its effects on heart heath, refer to the Chrysler Canada Smoking Cessation Program on pages 14-15 or visit www.healthcanada.ca/hl-vs/tobac-tabac/body-corps/index_e.htmlSMOKING