Smoking And Heart Health
Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. The risk of having heart disease increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Smoking cigarettes with lower levels of tar or nicotine does not guarantee to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, exposure to second-hand smoke causes heart disease in non-smokers as well.
Smoking And Your Heart
If you are thinking about quitting, it’s essential to know what specific results you’ll get with smoking. Mainly, cigarettes damage the lining of your blood vessels, causing it to be swollen or inflamed. This damage and possibly, narrowing of blood vessels causes a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases.
Atherosclerosis
This is a condition wherein your arteries become narrow and lose its elasticty. IT is mainly caused by tthee build up of fat and choelserol deposits which form a plaque in your blood vessels. This plaque causes narrowing, or even blockage, of y9our arteries. If arteries are blocked, less oxygen travels to your body. Smoking can increase the formation of plaque in blood vessels.
Stroke
Loss of brain function happens when a part of your brain does not receive adequate oxygen supply. Strokes can cause permanent damage to your brain. It is more rampant with people who smoke. There are different types of strokes based on how damage is done. When a clot forms and travels to your brain, this can cause blockage and decrease oxygen supply. Bleeding, or what we call hemorrhagic stroke, can be caused by increased blood pressure and rupture of blood vessels.
Peripheral Artery Diseases
Ever saw legs that are hyperpigmented than the usual? The arterial and vascular narrowing causes less blood flow to your extremities. Cells and tissue are deprived of oxygen when blood flow is reduced to that area. This results in an increase in pigmentation and violet to black in color. In extreme cases, amputation is the only solution. Smoking is the most common preventable cause of peripheral artery disease.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
The aorta is the main artery that delivers blood to all parts of your body. An aneurysm is a bulge on the portion of the aorta that is in the abdomen. Smoking is a known cause of early damage to the abdominal aorta, which can lead to aneurysm or rupture. This is a life-threatening disease, and almost all cases are caused by smoking.
These are just some of the harmful effects of smoking on your body. This tackles the results of tobacco specifically to your heart. In understanding these effects, it may help you understand why smoking cessation is just as important as any other disease.
