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Quitting smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke benefits your heart and blood vessels. Studies show that quitting smoking lowers the risk for atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and complications such as heart attack or death.

The chemicals in tobacco smoke, including secondhand smoke and smoke from pipes or cigars, can cause changes in the body. Body changes can include inflammation, damage to blood vessel walls, changes to heart rhythm, an increase in blood pressure, changes in cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and thickened blood. Smoking can increase your risk for heart disease and peripheral artery disease.

Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the lung. This inflammatory process can occur along the entire airway from the nose to the lung.

The chemicals in tobacco smoke harm your blood cells. Smoking can also damage the function of the heart and the structure and function of blood vessels, leading to atherosclerosis and its complications (coronary heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, arrhythmia, peripheral artery disease, and stroke).

Agricultural health is the study of environmental, occupational, dietary, and genetic factors on the health of farmers, farm families, pesticide applicators, and others who work with and are exposed to agricultural chemicals.

To get started and stay active make physical activity part of your daily routine, personalize the benefits, be active with friends and family, make everyday activities more active, reward yourself with time for physical activity, keep track of your progress, be active and safe, and talk with your doctor.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released physical activity guidelines that recommend the types and amounts of physical activity that children and youth age 6 or older, adults, people over the age of 65, women who are pregnant or just had a baby, and other groups can do.

The benefits of regular physical activity outweigh the risks. Rarely, heart problems such as arrhythmias, sudden cardiac arrest, and heart attack may occur in people who already have heart conditions such as coronary heart disease and congenital heart disease. Always ask your doctor about what type and amount of physical activity is safe for you.

Regular physical activity, at a moderate or vigorous aerobic intensity has many health benefits, which can include: strengthening your heart, improving lung function, reducing the risk for coronary heart disease and repeat heart attacks, lowering blood pressure and triglycerides in the blood, raising good HDL cholesterol levels, helping your body control blood sugar levels, reducing inflammation in the body, and maintaining a healthy weight.

The main types of physical activity are aerobic, muscle-strengthening, bone-strengthening, and stretching. Aerobic activity, which makes your heart beat faster, provides the most benefit for your heart and lungs. Depending on your fitness level, aerobic activity can be light, moderate, or vigorous.