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Women and Heart Disease: Smoking
Women and Heart Disease: SmokingWomen who smoke are 2 to 4 times more likely to have a heart attack and stroke than nonsmokers, and justliving with someone who smokes can expose you to their smoke second hand, which can greatly increase yourrisk.Smoking makes the vessel walls more penetrable to the cholesterol and it makes the cholesterol moreaggressive in its course into the blood-vessel walls. Those things combine to accelerate the accumulation ofplaque in the blood-vessel walls and the resulting cardiac events associated with that like angina or heartattacks.Taking an oral contraceptive if you smoke also greatly increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. Quittingis the single biggest lifestyle change you can make for your heart and overall health.Now is the time to quit. You do not have to quit alone. Talk to your healthcare provider about ways to quitsmoking. Medications can help you stop the physical urge to smoke, while community support groups can helpbreak the habit. It may help you to get started by setting a quit date and tell yourself that you are doing it foryou. Your family and loved ones who smoke will see your example. Work as a team. If your partner smokes,work together to quit together - encourage each other every day.Some people find that they can quit cold turkey, but many others find smoking cessation products helpful.There are both prescription medications and nicotine replacement therapies that can help you quit smoking.Talk to your healthcare provider to see what might work for you, and not interfere with any currentmedications you are on. Maybe one method of quitting is not enough for you.Talk to your healthcare provider about combining different smoking cessation methods to increase yoursuccess. Your healthcare provider can also recommend other resources you may find helpful when trying toquit. Individual counseling sessions, tobacco quit lines, smoking cessation programs and local support groupscan help.Making a commitment to quit smoking is very important. Make sure you are aware of how challenging it canbe and remind yourself about the positive reasons why it’s important to quit smoking. It’s easy to becomefrustrated. But don’t get discouraged if you slip up.Most people have to quit more than once and try different methods before they are successful. If you startsmoking again, set another quit date and try again. Remember, you are quitting tobacco to protect your hearthealth.Page 1 ofThis program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.© The Wellness Network
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