If you have a heart, say no to tobacco!
Tobacco harms practically all of the body’s organs and is a key risk factor for heart disease!
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Smoking can impact all aspects of the cardiovascular system, including the heart, blood, and blood vessels. I know from my experience over the years that about 25% of the patients who seek treatment from me for heart conditions smoke.
๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐๐ฌ๐?
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Of course there is! Smoking definitely contributes to heart disease. The majority of smokers experience heart attacks.
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Some claim that the only people at risk for heart attacks or strokes are those who are classified as heavy smokers. Although this is the case, did you know that smoking even 1 or 2 cigarettes a day might result in heart attacks?
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Young smokers are on the rise, which unfortunately brings more cardiac patients between the ages of 20 and 25 to the cardiology unit.
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๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ญ?
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The harmful mix of more than 7,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, including nicotine and carbon monoxide, can interfere with vital bodily functions when inhaled.
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When you breathe, your lungs absorb oxygen and pass it on to your heart, which then pumps this oxygen-rich blood to the rest of your body through the blood arteries. However, when the blood that is circulated to the rest of the body picks up the toxins in cigarette smoke when you breathe it in, your heart and blood arteries are harmed by these substances, which could result in cardiovascular diseases.
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๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐จ๐ค๐ ๐๐จ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ญ?
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โ Atherosclerosis (Building up of cholesterol deposits in the coronary artery)
Endothelium dysfunction leads to atherosclerosis. The inner layer of coronary arteries or the arterial wall of the heart both function improperly and contribute to artery constriction when you smoke cigarettes. As a result, the endothelium-cell barrier that separates the arteries is breached, allowing cholesterol plaque to build up. It’s crucial to realize that smoking increases the risk of endothelial dysfunction in even those who have normal cholesterol levels.
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โ Heart Attacks
The plaque accumulated in the arteries can burst as a result of continued smoking or other factors like emotional stress or strenuous exercises. Heart attacks occur when these plaque rupture and turn into clots.
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โ Coronary artery spasm
Did you know you can experience a spasm immediately after a puff of smoke?
A brief tightening or constriction of the muscles in the wall of an artery that supplies blood to the heart is referred to as a coronary artery spasm. Part of the heart’s blood flow can be impeded or reduced by a spasm. A prolonged spasm can cause chest pain and possibly a heart attack.
People who usually experience coronary artery spasms don’t have typical heart disease risk factors like high cholesterol or high blood pressure. However, they are frequent smokers.
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โ Arrhythmia
An erratic or irregular heartbeat is known as an arrhythmia. The scarring of the heart muscle caused by smoking can cause a fast or irregular heartbeat.
Additionally, nicotine can cause arrhythmia by speeding up the heart rate.
๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ !
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Did you know the positive impacts start to show as soon as you stop smoking?
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After 20 minutes of quitting smoking, your heart rate begins to slow down.ย
In just 12 hours after quitting, the level of carbon monoxide in your blood returns to normal, allowing more oxygen to reach your heart and other vital organs.ย
12 to 24 hours after you stop smoking, blood pressure levels return to normal.ย
Your risk of developing coronary heart disease decreases by 50% after one year of no smoking.ย
๐ฆ๐ผ ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ, ๐ผ๐ป “๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐ก๐ผ – ๐ง๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐”, ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ & ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ!
