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View DoctorsLearn more about 6 effects smoking has on your heart
We all know that smoking is bad for your breathing, your lungs, and causes cancer, but do you know what it means for your heart?
Globally, smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths, and recent state reports that nearly 3,000 deaths a year in the United Arab Emirates are smoking-related.
Smoking impacts your entire body, from your skin and teeth, to your lungs and heart.
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Every time you light up, you’re causing structural changes to both your heart and the blood it pumps around your body, compromising their ability to function properly. Individually, and cumulatively, this leads to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease and stroke.
Smoking has many effects on the body and heart, including:
There’s no denying that the harm caused to your heart by smoking is serious, but the flip side to this is that the damage can be reversed by giving up smoking. Quitting your tobacco habit – whether it’s cigarettes, shisha, e-cigs, or medwakh – will benefit your heart with almost immediate effect.
Giving up smoking is by no means easy, but the benefits of doing so extend beyond your heart to your overall health. If you are planning to stop smoking, consider a smoking cessation program, which improves your chances of successfully giving up in the short and long term.