Any women looking for (yet another) reason to quit smoking -- or better yet, never to start -- might be interested in this: Researchers at the Harvard Medical School have found that the more a woman smokes, the more likely she is to develop peripheral artery disease, a debilitating condition where narrowing of the arteries restricts blood flow to the extremities. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the disease affects millions of people in the United States. Symptoms include pain and numbness in the limbs (usually the legs), and in severe cases reduced blood flow can lead to infections and even amputation. The disease increases the risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke and mini-stroke.
