Arteries age twice as fast in smokers

It's well-known that smoking is bad for the heart and other parts of the body, and researchers now have chronicled in detail one reason why - because continual smoking causes progressive stiffening of the arteries. In fact, smokers' arteries stiffen with age at about double the speed of those of nonsmokers, Japanese researchers have found. Stiffer arteries are prone to blockages that can cause heart attacks, strokes and other problems. "We've known that arteries become more stiff in time as one ages," said Dr. William B. Borden, a preventive cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. "This shows that smoking accelerates the process. But it also adds more information in terms of the role smoking plays as a cause of cardiovascular disease." - MedicineNet.com