You likely know that smoking, chewing, or otherwise taking tobacco can present a great many medical risks, including for your cardiovascular health. The toxins ingested when indulging in tobacco will create a number of complications throughout your body. These dangers develop even if you stick to products that promise low levels of harmful nicotine.
You may worry that if you already have a smoking habit, you put yourself in irreversible medical danger. But quitting tobacco will benefit all patients and reduce the risk of cardiovascular emergencies. Read on to learn more about the dangers of smoking tobacco and why you should quit this habit as soon as you can.
How Does Tobacco Influence Cardiovascular Health?
A cigarette contains many chemicals that are toxic to your body. In relation to your cardiovascular system in particular, these toxins irritate and inflame the blood vessels making them become narrower. As blood tries to squeeze through this tighter space, you will have a higher blood pressure among other cardiovascular concerns.
In the less flexible vessels, you could have a higher chance of forming build-up within your system known as plaque. This will lead to chronic heart and vascular diseases, including atherosclerosis. With restricted blood flow like this, you are in danger of blood not reaching your organs, which may lead to malfunction or failure.
You also run the risk of forming more blood clots. They can interrupt blood flow and lead to emergency events like a stroke or heart attack. These medical conditions can become fatal without urgent treatment from your doctor. You should make efforts to prevent their occurrence by eliminating risk factors like tobacco usage.
Is It Too Late to Quit Smoking and Improve Health?
Smoking even one cigarette will introduce toxins to your body that can start causing damage right away. Ideally, you should not ever use tobacco. But if you already smoke, you should stop as soon as you can. It is never too late to stop this habit and avoid further bodily harm from this substance.
Within a few weeks from your last use of tobacco, you can begin to see health advantages as the toxins leave your system. The inflammation goes down so that you see wider blood vessels and therefore improved blood flow. As a result, you will see a lower chance of blood clots and other serious cardiovascular problems.
It may take a few years for the damage to your heart and blood vessels to heal enough to the level of a non-smoker. This is why kicking this habit as soon as possible is crucial to your overall well-being.
Discuss tips to quit tobacco usage and find more preventative efforts you can make for your heart health by calling your cardiovascular specialist today. If you have a history of tobacco usage, you should schedule an evaluation of your heart and blood vessels with your doctor. Early diagnosis of potential problems can help you avoid a serious emergency.