Women who smoke are 25% more likely to develop heart disease than men
Smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death in Australia – and its impact on your heart is especially serious.
Smoking is one of the leading risk factors for heart disease. It damages blood vessels, raises blood pressure, and reduces the amount of oxygen your heart receives. Alarmingly, women who smoke and also take the contraceptive pill have a 10 times higher risk of heart attack.
Around 40% of women who smoke die from heart disease, stroke, or blood vessel conditions. In fact, smokers are 2 to 4 times more likely to develop heart disease than non-smokers.
The most powerful step you can take for your heart health is to quit smoking. The good news? The benefits begin quickly – your risk of heart disease starts to drop within just weeks of stopping.
What does smoking do to your heart?
- Causes the artery walls to narrow due to the build-up of fatty materials, increasing the risk of clots forming which can lead to a heart attack or stroke
- Raises your blood pressure and speeds up your heart rate
- Deprives the heart, brain, and arteries of oxygen supply meaning your heart has to pump harder to supply the body with the oxygen it needs
- Decreases tolerance to HDL (good) cholesterol.
Long and short-term effects of smoking
Long term:
- Lung cancer
- Cancers of the colon, mouth, throat, bladder, and cervix
- Emphysema and bronchitis
- Smoker’s cough
- Heart disease and stroke
- Complications during pregnancy that can lead to an underweight baby or premature death in infancy
- Osteoporosis
- Digestive problems
- Gum disease
Short term:
- Shortness of breath
- Worsening of asthma symptoms
- Respiratory infection
- Harm to pregnancy
- Infertility
- Impotence
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