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Smoking and the effect on the cardiovascular system Whenever a person smokes a cigarette, the chemicals in the smoke, particularly nicotine and carbon monoxide
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Smoking and the effect on the cardiovascular system Whenever a person smokes a cigarette, the chemicals in the smoke, particularly nicotine and carbon monoxide, damage the cardiovascular system. Nicotine causes both immediate and longer term increases in blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output and coronary blood flow. Carbon monoxide binds to the hemoglobin, which is what normally carries oxygen from the lungs via the bloodstream, and therefore reduces the amount of oxygen reaching body tissues. Smoking makes blood vessels and blood cells sticky, allowing cholesterol and other dangerous fatty material to build up inside them. This is called atherosclerosis. This in turn can lead to raised blood pressure and clot formation. There are a number of cardiovascular diseases that are associated with smoking. They include heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. It is estimated that around 13% of cardiovascular disease deaths are due to smoking. The graph below shows that over...
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