even smokers can lower their risk of heart attack

stay active and live longer

Even if you don't stop smoking, you can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by exercising on a regular basis, according to a University of Texas at Austin study.

Examining otherwise healthy sedentary smokers and physically active smokers, Dr. Hiro Tanaka, an exercise physiologist in the College of Education, discovered that the smokers who exercised actually increased the blood flow to their legs.

Cigarette smoking causes a distinct, immediate decrease in blood flow to the legs because blood vessels going to the legs become constricted. Over time, this can lead to peripheral artery disease and increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, amputation and even death.

“My imagination was captured and I decided to research this topic when I saw a John Cougar Mellencamp special on VH1,” says Tanaka, who is in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. “Mellencamp was a heavy smoker and had a heart attack, and even though he was a thin person and not that old, the cigarettes were doing him in. Although he couldn’t let go of the cigarettes, he started exercising regularly and his health improved.

“In our study, we were looking at fairly young individuals—between Nineteen and Thirty-two—and those who were doing just 8 hours of exercise a week were significantly reducing their risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attack. I smoked and know how difficult it is to give up something that addictive, but if a smoker can go ahead and initiate an exercise routine as she attempts to give up the habit, she’ll start enjoying the benefits of the exercise even before she puts down her last cigarette.”