Smoking's Overall Effect on Cholesterol
Smoking affects every part of the body, with cholesterol being no exception. It raises "bad" cholesterol to a high degree while lowering the "good" cholesterol, which wreaks havoc on the body's cardiovascular system. It also puts you at risk for heart attack, stroke and cardiac arrest because high cholesterol clogs the veins and arteries. The good news is that once you quit smoking, your bad cholesterol level will diminish almost instantly.
How Smoking Affects Cholesterol
When you smoke, you lower your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which is a bad thing because HDL is associated with low blood pressure and low risk of artherosclerosis (clotting of the blood vessels). What's worse, you increase your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which in excessive levels sticks to the sides of your blood vessels and contributes to atherosclerosis. When there is artherosclerosis, oxygen-rich blood can't move easily through the blood vessels and take the oxygen to the heart or brain. This eventually leads to considerable physical damage or death.
Why Quitting Smoking Aids Cholesterol Health
Once people abstain from cigarettes, they feel the healthy effects of quitting in a matter of minutes. First, their HDL levels increase, which lowers LDL because HDL binds to LDL and transports it to the liver and away from the blood vessels. In turn, the removal of LDL allows blood to move smoothly through the blood vessels and take oxygen to the vital organs. These good effects move startlingly fast -- within a year of quitting smoking, it is estimated that you will have cut your risk of cardiovascular disease by half. Without a doubt, quitting smoking is the most important thing you can do to lower the risk of high cholesterol.
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