How Does Smoking Affect the Cardiovascular System?
• In posing health risks on the body’s cardiovascular system, smoking: • causes immediate and long-term increases in blood pressure. • causes immediate and long-term increases in heart rate. • reduces cardiac output and coronary blood flow. • reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the body’s tissues. • changes the properties of blood vessels and blood cells – allowing cholesterol and other fatty substances to build up (accumulate). • contributes to higher blood pressure and increased risk of blot clot formation. • damages blood vessels. • doubles the risk of ischemic stroke (reduced blood flow to the brain). In addition, smoking has been associated with depression and psychological distress.What are the risks of secondhand smoke? The American Heart Association estimates indicate that approximately 37,000 to 40,000 people die each year from heart and blood vessel disease caused by secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is smoke that is exhaled by smokers and smoke emitted from the burnin
