Heart Disease and That Next Cigarette
Most people, when they think of smoking they think of lung disease, but there are other health risks that can be even more devastating. Heart disease can also be caused by smoking, with or without lung involvement. Smoking can lead to sudden heart attacks or strokes, and can be a contributing factor in coronary artery disease. Smoking prohibits the heart from getting adequate oxygen which can cause it to pump harder to oxygenate the blood. This increases the blood pressure which can lead to a stroke.
Good Cholesterol, Bad Cholesterol and Artery Disease
Smoking increases the amount of bad (LDL) cholesterol in the body, while simultaneously decreasing the amount of good (HDL) cholesterol, both of which put the smoker at increased risk for heart attack and stroke. It can also make blood cells sticky which causes them to clot at a higher rate, cause plaque to build up in the arteries and damage the inner lining of the arteries, veins and capillaries.
Stiff, Inflexible Arteries
Believe it or not, smoking has also been directly linked to the onset of diabetes due to the fact that it can very easily make the smoker insulin resistant. Even worse, it can cause the arteries near the heart and lungs to become stiff and inflexible. In a smoker, atherosclerosis is an extremely high risk because the cells lining the arteries and veins cannot respond the way they are designed to in order to clear the blood of impurities.
Decreased Lung Capacity
Smokers often have decreased lung capacity which leads to less tolerance of exercise and the exercise they do get is often marred by the inability to gain a regular heart beat due to the lack of oxygen in the blood. Heart patients who smoke and have endured bypass surgery are very likely to have more coronary artery disease later on if they do not quit smoking immediately. Also, second-hand smoke can cause a non-smoker to suffer a heart attack as well, so if you smoke it is best to do so outdoors, away from non-smokers.
Tags: arteries veins, artery disease, coronary artery, coronary artery disease, heart attack, lining arteries