Hi Everyone,
We are excited to let you know about a new feature of RightHealth’s DailyDose blog. Starting today, every Monday will be “Ask the Doctor” day. In every Monday’s DailyDose post, I will respond to one of the questions posed by our readers. If you have a question about a personal health issue or want to learn more about health topic that you find interesting, please email it to dailydose@righthealth.com. Don’t worry, your identity will be kept confidential.
Please understand that we can’t answer all of your questions each week! But we’ll do our best to select the questions which have the broadest interest among you.
So let’s get started! This week’s question is from Mark V…
The cardiologist who recently examined President Obama, an admitted occasional smoker, told the Commander in Chief that although he received a clean bill of health, he’s still at risk for heart disease because he is a smoker in a high-stress job. Does smoking less frequently or just occasionally reduce the health risks for smokers?
Smoking accounts for over 400 thousand deaths annually in the United States, mostly in the form of lung cancer, stroke, and coronary heart disease. In fact, smoking increases every kind of cancer risk with 80% of lung cancers linked to smoking. It doesn’t matter if you smoke only one cigarette a day or one pack a day. The act of smoking will increase your risk of these diseases. We also know there is a clear link between second hand smoke and cardiovascular disease. Approximately 23 to 70 thousand premature deaths occur each year in the U.S. because of second hand smoke.
Does smoking less reduce health risks? The answer is yes. If you smoke three packs a day as opposed to one pack a day, you do have more of a risk for heart disease. But it’s not until you quit smoking do you see some amazing results. Here’s what we know:
- At 20 minutes after quitting your blood pressure decreases and the body temperature of your hands and feet increase, due to improved circulation.
- At 24 hours you begin to see a decrease in heart attack risk.
- At 48 hours your senses of smell and taste improve and nerve endings actually begin to regrow!
- After 1 year your risk of coronary heart disease drops by 50%.
- After 5-15 years your stroke risk drops by 50%.
- After 10 years your risk of lung cancer drops by 50%.
- After 15 years your risk of coronary heart disease and death rate returns to the same level as those who never smoked.
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.