Avoiding infection another reason not to smoke

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Avoiding infection another reason not to smoke

Cigarette smoking turns the entire body into a breeding ground for

infection, which in turn may allow artery-clogging plaque to take hold,

according to a study in the September Stroke: Journal of the American Heart

Assn.

Chronic infection may explain why some smokers prematurely develop

atherosclerosis, while other smokers remain free of arterial plaque buildup

until they are older.

Current and ex-smokers who had common chronic infections -- bronchitis,

ulcers, urinary tract infections and even gum disease -- were more than

three times as likely to develop early atherosclerosis than people without

such infections. Early atherosclerosis was defined as new plaques in

previously normal arteries.

Infection also promoted artery disease in people exposed to secondhand

smoke.

" Active and passive smoking represents one of the most severe risks for

atherosclerosis, " said lead researcher Stefan Kiechl, MD, professor of

neurology at Austria's Innsbruck University Hospital. " Smokers are at

significantly higher risk of developing severe early atherosclerosis, but we

found the risk falls to that of nonsmokers soon after they quit, unless

there is a history of chronic infection, " he said