Nicotine and the other chemicals in cigarette smoke can put major stress on your heart. Smoking increases your risk of atherosclerosis, a disease in which fatty plaques build up in your blood stream. That plaque hardens, blocking your coronary arteries and increasing your risk for coronary heart disease. Over time, coronary heart disease can lead to chest pain, irregular heartbeat and even heart attack. Smokers are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease than non-smokers.
After 24 hours smoke-free, your heart rate and blood pressure return to normal, and more oxygen flows into your bloodstream, decreasing the amount of stress on your ticker — and significantly decreasing your risk of heart attack.
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