Cholesterol Management Health Center
Smoking and High Cholesterol
Smoking increases the risk of coronary artery disease in people who have high cholesterol and other diseases that increase the risk of heart disease, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Cigarette smoking lowers HDL ("good") cholesterol. It also injures the lining of the blood vessels and increases the risk of developing blood clots, which contributes to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Even inhaling others' cigarette smoke (secondhand smoke) has been shown to lower HDL cholesterol.
High Cholesterol Treatment -- What Works?
If you've just been diagnosed with high cholesterol, you may be worried. After all, along with your age, genes, and other factors, high cholesterol is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke. But while you can't turn back the clock or yank out unhealthy genes from your DNA, you can change your cholesterol numbers. That's because high cholesterol treatment works. "We have good, safe treatments for high cholesterol," says Adolph Hutter, MD, a cardiologist at Massachusetts...
Read the High Cholesterol Treatment -- What Works? article > >
Studies have shown that HDL levels often go up soon after a person quits smoking. For information on how to quit, see the topic Quitting Smoking.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
