As title said why does smoke cause so much damage to the cardiovascular system?
In the last year 3 acquaintances of mine had heart attack of some sort. The doctor said that smoke was the main reason for all 3 of them.
I read most chainsmokers die of heart attack instead of lung cancer but i don’t understand why.
In: Biology
A heart attack is what happens when something (a blood clot, a bit of fat/cholesterol/plaque, etc) blocks one the arteries that supply blood and nutrients to the heart. Smoking impacts this in two ways. First, it causes your blood to thicken and clot more easily, which means clots are more likely to form inside your blood vessels where they’re not supposed to. Second, it irritates the lining of your blood vessels, causing them to swell and become less flexible, which makes them narrower and easier to clog. This is also why smoking increases the risk of stroke, which is when the same thing happens to an artery leading to the brain.
It’s also worth mentioning that both of those effects are temporary. According to the CDC, the increased risk largely goes away within a year of quitting smoking. However, heart damage from actually having a heart attack is permanent.
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