- Nicotine in cigarettes increases heart rate and blood pressure by 20 to 25 percent which exhausts the heart with time. Narrowed arteries and arteriosclerosis is also caused by the precipitation of cholesterol on the walls of the blood vessels.
- Smoking makes regulating blood pressure difficult even with medication. A smoker is advised to quit smoking to be able to regulate their blood pressure with the help of medication.
- Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide which replaces oxygen in blood and increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks.
- Smoking weakens the heart muscle and its ability to pump blood and perform its vital functions.Smoking increases the risk of complications from anesthesia when performing a surgery, which is why it is asked of smokers to stop smoking at least three days before a surgery. This may be the result of the blood containing carbon monoxide which decreases blood efficiency.
- Smoking causes the swelling and laceration of the main artery in the body (aorta) which can lead to its sudden burst and even death if surgery is not performed.
- Smoking is one of the main reasons for narrowed arteries of the limbs especially legs. It was proven that smokers represent 90% of people suffering from narrowed arteries in limbs. It is noted that this causes chronic pain in the legs during walking or moving. Eventually this will require surgery to replace the arteries with artificial ones with no guaranteed success.
- There is a specific type of narrowed arteries in legs called “Burger’s Disease” which occurs in smokers only (smokers represent 99 percent of people suffering from this disease). It is a condition that is difficult to treat. It might start in one area of the body and then spreads in different arteries throughout the body. This disease is one of the leading causes of fingers and limbs loss in smokers.
- It is now proven that smoking is one of the causes of involuntary blood clotting. This means that smokers have a higher risk of having blood clotting in legs or lungs despite having no other obvious health issues.
