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Quit SmokingCigarette smoking increases blood pressure and the tendency to get blood clots. It also decreases HDL, or the "good cholesterol," and it decreases exercise tolerance. Smoking is so common and such a significant risk factor for heart disease that the Surgeon General has referred to it as, "the most important of the known modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease in the United States." And when it comes to smoking related health problems, heart disease is only one of many. The good news is that when you stop smoking--no matter how long or how much you've smoked--your risk of heart disease and stroke starts to drop. The following resources are available to help you quit smoking: American Cancer Society American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists American Heart Association American Lung Association of Michigan Michigan Department of Community Health Muskegon County Health Department National Cancer Institute National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention (LCAT) National Women's Health Information Center Nicotine Anonymous Office on Smoking and Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Quit The NIC Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network Smokefree.gov Smoke-Free Families (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) |