Tobacco.org

A New Reason to Quit for the Great American Smokeout 

few realize the damage smoking causes throughout the body's vascular system. Smoking damages the blood vessels and smokers are at risk for all vascular diseases including peripheral arterial disease (PAD), stroke, heart attack, abdominal aortic aneurysm and subsequent death. This year for the Great American Smokeout interventional radiologists are urging Americans to quit. As vascular experts these doctors see first-hand the damage that smoking causes to the arteries.

The disabling leg pain that some smokers suffer from can be caused by PAD, clogged arteries in the legs that limit their ability to walk ordinary distances. "Smokers are always amazed that in many cases there is a marked turn around in their ability to walk if they quit smoking. They realize -- my gosh, I didn't have to live like this," says interventional radiologist Ted Chambers, MD. Just like clogged arteries in the heart, clogged arteries in the legs also increase the risk for a heart attack or stroke.

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