The advice is straightforward: Stop smoking and work with your healthcare provider to protect your heart.
Kentucky has the second-highest smoking rate in the nation, explains Joyce Jacobs, a Nurse Navigator at the Florence Wormald Heart & Vascular Institute at St. Elizabeth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 17% of Kentucky adults smoke, and approximately 16% of adults in Indiana smoke. Both rates are significantly higher than the national average of 11%. In Indiana, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death.
Jacobs is determined to help shrink those statistics. She explains that quitting smoking, eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise can dramatically improve health outcomes.
Quit Smoking to Make a Difference
At a minimum, smoking triples your risk of heart disease. Patients tell Jacobs that they’ve been smoking for so long they doubt quitting will make a difference. She emphatically disagrees.
“Smoking increases your risk of heart disease, and it doesn’t matter how long you’ve smoked,” Jacobs says. “Quitting will always make a difference.”
She advises everyone to seek help to quit. “Talk to your provider about getting started and accessing resources, including the American Heart Association website,” she advises.
The Immediate and Long-Term Benefits of Quitting Tobacco
Some benefits of quitting are almost immediate. According to the AHA, your lungs begin to heal as soon as you stop exposing them to tobacco.
The year after you quit, the AHA reports your risk of future heart disease drops by 50%. After 15 years, your risk is as low as someone who has never smoked. You will also find:
- You breathe much easier.
- Your sense of smell and taste returns.
- Your smoker’s cough disappears.
There is more good news from the American Lung Association (ALA). After you quit smoking:
- Within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
- Within three months, your risk of a heart attack begins to drop.
- In one year, your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker.
- In 5 to 15 years, your risk of stroke reduces to that of a nonsmoker.
Comprehensive Support to Help You Quit
Despite the known risks, many continue to smoke. According to the ALA, there are nearly 9,000 tobacco-related deaths in Kentucky each year.
Tobacco is an addiction, not just a question of willpower. But if you’re a smoker, quitting is the single most important step you can take to improve your health. And, because of secondhand smoke, quitting also improves the health of your family and friends.
Once you decide to quit, you do not have to do it alone.
- St. Elizabeth Healthcare offers Freedom from Smoking, a free, seven-week smoking cessation program developed by the ALA. We offer group support, individualized attention and a variety of effective methods to help you quit tobacco for good. For more information, call (859) 301-5570.
- Quit Now Kentucky is a free service for Kentuckians offered by regional health departments. The program includes telephone coaching, internet support and even text messaging assistance. For more information, call (800) QUIT-NOW or visit QuitNowKentucky.org.
- The National Institutes of Health offers a Smoking Quitline at (877) 448-7848. This program provides counseling, information and referrals based on your needs.
- Talk to your primary care provider. They can provide prescription medications and nicotine replacement therapies. Your provider can also offer advice on over-the-counter options like patches and gum.
Take the First Step Toward a Healthier Life
Empower yourself and take charge of your health before it’s too late. Talk with your St. Elizabeth primary care provider about starting your journey to a tobacco-free life. They can guide you to the many resources available to support your quitting efforts and help protect your heart.
