Cigarette Smoking (cont.)

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 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, which can be life threatening if not recognized and treated promptly. Tobacco use may cause shortness of breath or chest pain that may be life threatening along with these symptoms:

• Pneumonia

• Acute attack of emphysema

• Pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung)

• Aortic aneurysm - A football-shaped widening of the main artery leaving the heart, caused by a weakening in the wall of the artery

• Aortic dissection - A tearing of the wall of the aorta, which, if it ruptures, bleeds profusely

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