Just One Cigarette Makes the Heart Work Harder

While social smokers, who claim to enjoy a cigarette on occasion, may believe themselves to be free from the dangers that face the true nicotine addict, it now appears that just one cigarette is all that is necessary to adversely affect the circulatory system.

Smoking Stiffens Arteries

A recent study conducted by the McGill University Health Center in Canada examined the effect of smoking on arterial stiffness, which is an important factor in determining how hard a heart must work to perform its basic functionality.

Researchers led by Dr. Stella Daskalopoulou studied the effects of smoking on people between the ages of 18 and 30 and discovered some shocking results, likely to be of concern to even the least active social smoker. The survey examined the arterial stiffness of both smokers and non-smokers while at rest and after exercise. While non-smokers’ arteries responded well to physical exertion – demonstrating a noticeable drop in arterial stiffness after even a small amount of exercise – the smokers’ vessels became 2.2 percent stiffer with exercise, 12.6 percent stiffer after chewing a piece of nicotine gum and 24 percent stiffer after smoking only one cigarette.

The results are alarming because stiffened arteries force the heart to work harder and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Hearts Working Harder

Dr. Daskalopoulou noted that her team’s research indicated that arterial damage, compromising the body’s ability to respond to physical exertion, was likely the first damage inflicted when an individual begins his or her smoking habit. She added that the oxygen circulation of the smoker was not only compromised while indulging in this addiction, but that lingering effects continued to impact their system.

Young Smokers’ Systems Compromised

Dr. Daskalopoulou stated, “In effect, this means that even light smoking in otherwise healthy young people can damage the arteries, compromising the ability of their bodies to cope with physical stress, such as climbing a set of stairs or running to catch a bus. It seems that this compromised ability to respond to physical stress occurs first, before the damage of the arteries becomes evident at rest.”

Anti-smoking campaigners will not be surprised by the revelation. Pursuant to Heart and Stroke Federation spokeswoman, Dr. Beth Abramson, the study served only to reiterate the importance of the long-standing efforts to alert individuals to the very real dangers of smoking.

Protection Against Smoke Damage

While time and money will continue to be poured into efforts to prevent new smokers from starting down the path to compromised circulation, established smokers may be asking what they can do to reverse the damage.

Most important is of course to case smoking completely, and while the preparation and process may take some time, holistic practitioners recommend augmenting the diet with supplements such as vitamin C, and the antioxidant grape seed oil which can help equip the body to fight against the ravages wrought by smoking.

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