Smoking and Stroke Risk

Topic Overview

Smoking injures blood vessel walls and speeds up hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). As a result, the heart works harder, and blood pressure may increase. Cigarette smoking increases your risk for transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke .

Heavy smokers are at greater risk for TIA and stroke. Daily cigarette smoking can increase the risk of stroke by 2½ times. ^{footnote 1}

The risk of stroke and TIA decreases for those who quit smoking. If you smoked less than one pack a day and you quit, within 5 years your risk will be the same as though you had never smoked. ^{footnote 1}