How does smoking increase your risk of heart disease?

Consultant Cardiologist Joban Sehmi discusses the effect of smoking on your heart health

It’s now well known that smoking is incredibly bad for your health on several levels.

In particular, being a smoker predisposes you to significant problems from heart disease.

It is thought that being a regular smoker increases your chance of having a heart attack two-fold. Smoking affects the heart in several ways. Firstly, the chemicals within cigarette smoke can damage the lining of the blood vessels and promote fat deposits which, if narrowed, can lead to a heart attack…

Are you at risk of heart disease?

Take our quick self-test to discover if you’re at risk of heart disease and if you should seek the support of a cardiologist

Smoke contains many nasty chemicals such as carbon monoxide. This reduces the efficiency with which your heart can work, and your heart has to work harder and has a greater chance of failing over time.

We know that smokers have a greater tendency to clot, and when blood clots, particularly in blood vessels within the heart, this can also lead to a heart attack.

I strongly urge you to take our heart disease online self-test to assess your risk of developing heart disease in the future. It will take you less than five minutes and will give you a good idea if you are at increased risk and whether or not you need to see a specialist.

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About the cardiologists

The Many Beats team consists of not one, but four highly experienced consultant cardiologists

Dr Navtej Chahal

Consultant Cardiologist

PhD FESC FACC

Navtej is a Consultant Cardiologist at Many Beats. He also consults at the London Northwest NHS Trust and the Royal Brompton Hospital, London having qualified from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Medical School in 2001. He is an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at Imperial College London

Dr Navin Chandra

Consultant Cardiologist

MD, MRCP, MBBS, BSc

Navin is a Consultant Cardiologist at Many Beats. He is also a Consultant Cardiologist at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. He qualified from Guy’s, King’s & St. Thomas’s in 2004...

Dr Ahmed Elghamaz

Consultant Cardiologist

FRCP, MB BCh

Ahmed is a Consultant Cardiologist at Many Beats. He also consults at Northwick Park Hospital and London North West Healthcare University Hospitals NHS Trust and is an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. He completed his junior…

Dr Joban Sehmi

Consultant Cardiologist

BSc, MBBS, MRCP, PhD

Joban is a Consultant Cardiologist at Many Beats. His NHS practice is at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS trust. He sees patients privately at Spire in Bushey and Bishops Wood Hospital in Northwood. He trained in medicine at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ medical school and qualified in 2003 with numerous academic awards…