Giving up smoking can benefit your heart health
Smoking can lead to severe health concequences like heart disease, heart attacka and stroke. Find out how your heart can be impacted by the chemicals in cigarettes and what you can do to improve your health.
Reviewed by: Mital Thakrar
Published: March 2025
Next review: March 2028
Smoking cigarettes increases your risk of heart disease as well as the people around you.
Smoking worsens the function of your cardiovascular system. This is the network of organs and blood vessels that carry blood and transport oxygen around your body. If you smoke, you can:
- Increase the number of triglycerides in your blood. These are fats that can stick to your blood vessels and cause a build-up that result in a higher blood pressure.
- Damage the cells of your blood vessels.
- Increase the stickiness of your blood. This can make it more likely that blood clots will form in your blood vessels.
Cigarettes contain a high number of chemicals, such as nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide that can lead to an increased risk of heart disease.
| Substance | Internal impact |
|---|---|
| Nicotine |
Nicotine is an addictive chemical that can cause an increase in adrenaline in your body. A higher amount of adrenaline in your body can trigger a fight or flight response and make your heart work harder – raising your blood pressure and heart rate. Over time, this can cause damage to the heart.1
|
| Tar | Tar can cause fatty build-ups in your arteries (the blood vessels that carry blood away from your heart) that can increase your risk of heart disease. This is because the build-up hardens and narrows your blood vessels, making it more difficult for blood to flow through them. The increased pressure over long periods of time can also lead to a heart attack or stroke.2,3 |
| Carbon monoxide | Carbon monoxide can make it difficult for oxygen to be carried in your blood. This can make it difficult for your organs and muscles to get the oxygen they need to function properly. It can also result in long term damage.4 |
Smoking also makes vascular disease (disease of the blood vessels) get worse quicker than if you didn’t smoke.2
If you stop smoking, your heart health almost immediately improves. It is not easy to quit smoking but it can be made more manageable when you have support.
Some ways your heart health will improve after quitting include:
- Your heart rate will lower to a normal level after 20 minutes of quitting
- After 2 to 12 weeks your circulation will have improved
- After 1 year, your risk of a heart attack will have halved compared to a smoker
- After 1 year of quitting smoking, your risk of heart disease will be halved.5,6
Giving up smoking can be challenging. Creating a plan, relying on aids like nicotine replacement products and getting support from healthcare professionals like your GP or pharmacist can help you reach your goal and stick to it long term.
Your lifestyle and medical history can all contribute to the quality of your heart health. Speaking to your doctor or pharmacist can help you identify whether you need to medication to manage your health or if you should make lifestyle changes.
If you are a smoker, quitting is one of the lifestyle changes that can lead to lasting improvements in your heart health. This might not be easy. You may have formed a habit or even be addicted to the nicotine in your cigarettes. But there are steps you can take to make it easier to stop smoking.
Other changes you can make include increasing your exercise and eating a healthier diet. Whatever lifestyle changes you make, it’s important to discuss them with a healthcare professional.
A UK charity for individuals with heart disease or worried about their heart health. It provides information and support on a range of heart conditions, including preventative steps, risk factors and more. It also provides a heart helpline that is free for anyone who has questions or concerns about their heart health.
The NHS has a lot of information on the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting. It also has lots of support on ways to quit.
- Smoking and the effect on your heart | Cardiomyopathy UK. Accessed March 5, 2024. https://www.cardiomyopathy.org/news-blogs/tips-and-advice/smoking-and-effect-your-heart
- Lee JE, Cooke JP. The role of nicotine in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis. 2011;215(2):281-283. doi:10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2011.01.003
- CDC. Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease. Published online 2014.
- What’s in a cigarette? Cancer Research UK. Published December 28, 2018. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/smoking-and-cancer/whats-in-a-cigarette-0
- Quit smoking. Accessed March 5, 2024. https://www.heartuk.org.uk/healthy-living/quit-smoking
- Quit smoking. nhs.uk. Published April 26, 2018. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/