Many people say they want to stop smoking and would do so if they could only find the will power. Yet smoking causes serious physical problems to those people who have smoked for a long period of time which can result in physical disability and even death. Surprisingly many people don't appear to find this knowledge gives them the will power they need!
Most people know there is a definite link between smoking and lung cancer, yet it appears few are aware of the proven link between smoking, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, yet there have been several studies on the links between smoking and the higher risk factors of smokers being predisposed to cardiovascular disease. Many of these studies have predicted that 2 out of every 3 deaths from coronary disease happened to people who either smoked, or were exposed to cigarette smoke.
Cigarettes contain both nicotine and carbon monoxide both of which are proved to be highly dangerous substances, yet people continue to put these unhealthy "sticks" into their mouth and inhale the poisonous fumes into their body. This in turn causes the heart to work much harder as the oxygen supply is depleted thus causing the blood pressure to rise.
Carbon monoxide is considered a lethal gas which is used in some commercial gases. It is also produced from the combustion of gas. It has an effect on the hemoglobin in our blood.
Carbon monoxide interferes with the process of oxygen which has been breathed in attaching itself to hemoglobin and forming a compound called oxyhemoglobin which is necessary for the oxygen to be released into the tissues of the heart and other organs. Carbon monoxide then attaches itself to hemoglobin instead of the oxygen and death can eventually occur because of oxygen starvation.
Another way cigarettes have a problematic effect on blood pressure is because the smoke accelerates the advance of atherosclerotic arterial disease much more rapidly and cardiovascular disease occurs much more quickly.
Other problems associated with smoking and high blood pressure can be the effects on the brain. The brain requires high levels of oxygen and if the arteries in the brain are clogged with plaque, atherosclerotic disease advances rapidly with the possibility of clot formation which can lead to a possibility of stroke and death.
The good news is that these same studies have found that if a relatively healthy person was to stop smoking, then within 18 months, over 90% of them would see their predisposition to cardiovascular disease reducing to the same as a person who doesn't smoke. This is surely a good enough reason to find that extra will power needed to give up the dreaded weed.
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Smoking and High Blood Pressure
