Quitting smoking improves artery health

Smokers who quit have a significant improvement in the health of their arteries within a year of their last cigarette, as media reported quoting a new study Monday.
The improvement is the equivalent of a 14 percent reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison study.
\”A lot of people are afraid to quit smoking because they\’re afraid to gain weight,\” said the study\’s leader, Dr. James Stein, a University of Wisconsin-Madison cardiologist.
The research shows these people gained a health benefit even though also gaining an average of 9 pounds after they quit, researchers found. Their levels of so-called good cholesterol improved, too.
Hardening of the arteries is an early step to heart disease. About one-third of premature smoking deaths are due to cardiovascular disease.
However, smokers who quit face a 70 percent increased risk of developing diabetes within the first two to three years. Within 10 years, that increased risk goes down to zero, said Neal Benowitz, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco who was not a part of the study.