Smoking and Peripheral Arterial Disease

Did you know that smoking is the single most important cause of peripheral arterial disease (PAD)? The risk for developing PAD is as much as three times higher for smokers as that for non-smokers. Tobacco use of any kind (low nicotine cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco) escalates PAD. Even half a pack of cigarettes per day can increase the risk by 30–50 percent!

There are two major medical reasons for this impact. First, the nicotine causes the blood vessels to narrow, leaving less room for blood flow and more risk in blood clot formation. Second, the smoke inhaled reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood, increasing chances of a blood clot.

Also, there are over 3,000 chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Some of the chemicals are nicotine, ammonia (used in cleaning fluids), arsenic (used in poisons), carbon monoxide (car exhaust), formaldehyde (embalming fluid), and hydrogen cyanide (used in rat poison).

Patients diagnosed with PAD who continue to smoke are jeopardizing their recovery efforts. PAD patients face as much as a 5 to 15 percent higher risk of death by heart attack and stroke if they continue to smoke.

Fortunately, smoking cessation has its rewards and significantly helps in treatment recommendations. Surgical treatment to remove built-up plaque will be much more successful in the non-smoker. Walking programs to treat intermittent claudication are also more successful in the non-smoker, and the risk for developing coronary artery disease also rapidly decreases once a smoker quits.

If you have been diagnosed with PAD and still smoke, we strongly urge you to speak with your physician about the best stopping method for you.