Smoking Among Adults: Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke

Coronary heart disease and stroke—the primary types of cardiovascular
disease caused by smoking—are the first and third leading causes of death in
the United States. More than 61 million Americans suffer from some form of
cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, coronary heart
disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and other conditions. More than
2,600 Americans die every day because of cardiovascular diseases, about 1
death every 33 seconds. (p. 363)

Toxins in the blood from smoking cigarettes contribute to the development of
atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a progressive hardening of the arteries
caused by the deposit of fatty plaques and the scarring and thickening of
the artery wall. Inflammation of the artery wall and the development of
blood clots can obstruct blood flow and cause heart attacks or strokes. (p.
364-365)

Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the
United States. Coronary heart disease results from atherosclerosis of the
coronary arteries. (p. 384, 407)

In 2003, an estimated 1.1 million Americans had a new or recurrent coronary
attack. (p. 384)

Cigarette smoking has been associated with sudden cardiac death of all types
in both men and women. (p. 387)

Smoking-related coronary heart disease may contribute to congestive heart
failure. An estimated 4.6 million Americans have congestive heart failure
and 43,000 die from it every year. (p. 387)

Smoking low-tar or low-nicotine cigarettes rather than regular cigarettes
appears to have little effect on reducing the risk for coronary heart
disease. (p. 386, 407)

Strokes are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Cigarette
smoking is a major cause of strokes. (p. 393)

The U.S. incidence of stroke is estimated at 600,000 cases per year, and the
one-year fatality rate is about 30%. (p. 393)

The risk of stroke decreases steadily after smoking cessation. Former
smokers have the same stroke risk as nonsmokers after 5 to 15 years. (p.
394)

Smoking causes abdominal aortic aneurysm. (p. 397)

Citation

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of
Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center
for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and
Health, 2004.


Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and has negative
health impacts on people at all stages of life. It harms unborn babies,
infants, children, adolescents, adults, and seniors