12 tips to quit smoking

Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among middle-age men and women, according to the American Heart Association. Here are the whys and hows of quitting.

By Sandra Gordon and Katherine C. Nugent
Reviewed by Julie Shannon, R.N., 2008

With each puff, the most dangerous part of cigarette smoke—carbon monoxide—replaces the oxygen in your blood, robbing your heart of vital oxygen. Meanwhile, the nicotine makes your heart beat faster. Your blood vessels constrict and your blood pressure shoots up, which is why smoking doubles the risk of stroke.

“Smoking also makes your blood more prone to clot and damages the lining of your arteries, increasing the chance of fatty plaque buildup—a setup for a heart attack,” says Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., medical director and endowed chair of the Women’s Health Program and Preventive Cardiac Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
 
The good news is the sooner you quit, the faster your cardiovascular system will rebound:

• The same day you quit, your blood pressure will go down.
• Within a month, your circulation and breathing will improve.
• “Within two years of not smoking, your heart attack risk will return to that of a nonsmoker,” Bairey Merz says.

More than half of all smokers want to quit. To increase your chances of success, follow our top tips.