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Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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When to Seek Medical Care

If you are interested in quitting smoking, call your doctor.

• It is never too early to think about quitting.

• Every encounter with a doctor, whether in the office, the hospital, the emergency department, or clinic, is a good time to talk about smoking and the possibility of quitting.

Anyone, but especially smokers, with unexplained or sudden onset chest pain or difficulty breathing should go to the nearest hospital's emergency department, probably by ambulance. These conditions may be symptoms of a heart attack or other serious health problems, which can be life-threatening if not recognized and treated promptly. Tobacco use may cause problems (for example, hypertension, vascular alterations) that lead to shortness of breath or chest pain that may be life-threatening.

Tobacco use may lead or contribute to one of the following causes of dyspnea or chest pain:

• pneumonia,

• acute attack of emphysema,

• pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung),

• aortic aneurysm (a widening of the main artery leaving the heart, caused by a weakening in the wall of the artery), and

• aortic dissection (a tearing of the wall of the aorta, which, if it ruptures, bleeds profusely).