Health Tip: Smoking Strains the Heart

Here's how

August 25, 2011 RSS Feed Print

(HealthDay News) -- Smokers may love the habit, but tobacco smoke doesn't love the heart.

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says smoking can harm the heart in many ways, including:

Causing thickened blood, making it more difficult for the blood to transport oxygen throughout the body.
Increasing blood pressure and heart rate, forcing the heart to work harder.
Lowering HDL ("good") cholesterol and raising LDL ("bad") cholesterol and triglycerides.
Causing abnormal heart rhythms and an increase in inflammation, which may cause a build-up of arterial plaque.
Causing hardening of the artery walls, which can cause narrowing and make it more difficult for the heart to pump blood.