Smoking Risk Factors
If you smoke, you probably know it damages your body in a lot of ways. For one thing, smoking lowers the amount of oxygen that goes to your heart and lungs. Smoking also increases your risk of getting a blood clot, damages the blood vessels that deliver blood throughout your body, and raises the chance of getting heart disease.
When you stop smoking, your body starts to heal right away and your risk for many diseases goes down. Below are is a timeline of how your body will heal after you stop smoking.
| Time | Benefit |
| 24 hours | Risk for having a heart attack goes down |
| 48 hours | Risk for having a heart attack goes down |
| 3 months | Blood will flow better throughout your body, and you’ll be able to exercise more easily |
| 9 months | Coughing, stuffy nose, tiredness, and trouble breathing should all start to get better, and you should have more energy |
| 1 year | Risk of heart disease will be half of what it was before you quit |
| 5 to 15 years | Chance of having a stroke and developing heart disease will go down to the level of a lifelong nonsmoker. |
Quitting isn’t easy, but there are experts who can help you. Talk to your doctor, or go to www.smokefree.gov for more information and support.