Smoking Causes Clots and Heart Attacks

People who smoke have an increased level of atherosclerosis in their coronary arteries. This is a build-up of fatty material - called atheroma - which can cause the inside lining of the artery to rupture, leading to a clot. Watch the BHF film.

Fatty build up in the artery wall

Small clot on atheroma

Large clot on ruptured fatty plaque

Clot on ruptured fatty plaque completely obscuring vessel

All Parts of the Body are Effected

There is no part of the body unaffected by cigarette smoking; from lungs, heart, brain, kidneys, bladder, stomach, intestine and limbs.

The surface area of the lungs which is available for gas exchange (oxygen in; CO2 out) is equivalent to about 7/8 of a tennis court! Smoking blocks many of the air passages and also stops the cleaning mechanism. Gradually the process leads to major damage. Only the ability of the body to compensate enables people to keep going for as long as they do before they reach a state of relatively sudden decline.

Once people stop smoking, a process of gradual restoration and repair of the body begins almost immediately. The recovery depends on several factors including age, amount of smoking and how long people have smoked for.