Читать книгу F*ck tobacco! - Артём Овечкин, Николай Косенков - Страница 7

Nicotine increases the chances of cardiovascular disease and stroke. We should also remember that smoking may trigger ischemic/ hypertensive heart diseases and cause myocardial infarction and atherosclerosis. Harmful substances contained in tobacco smoke penetrate the bloodstream and spread through the tissues in literally half a minute (time necessary for one entire cycle of the blood circulation). Therefore, they almost immediately affect the human body. Spasms that are experienced by small blood vessels after smoking two cigarettes in a row last about half an hour. Accordingly, if you smoke twenty times a day or more, blood vessel spasms have persistent and chronic nature.

Fragility and frailness of arteries, loss of elasticity are also consequences of smoking. Nicotine provokes narrowing of blood vessels, so the gap between the small arteries becomes smaller, and this results in a tissue perfusion disorder. A disastrous outcome is almost inevitable, because every year, the gap becomes smaller and smaller, and constant spasm is a significant factor in the development of hypertension, thrombophlebitis, and atherosclerosis.

Due to nicotine, the gap also becomes smaller in the vessels of the brain, which makes them age faster and decreases the elasticity of the blood vessels. The blood flow to the brain decreases. It causes circulatory disorders and may lead to a brain hemorrhage. Smoking is responsible for accelerating the heart rate by twenty beats per minute. The heart is forced to work harder, pumping blood, and spasms of the vessels that feed our heart lead to the inhibition of heart function. As a result, the smoker complains of chest pains and heart beating fast.

Complaints of nicotine-addicted persons about dizziness and nausea, when smoking too much, indicate that the blood vessels of the heart are cramping. But dizziness is just the beginning. The more severe consequence of the spasms is myocardial infarction. And if a large area of the heart deteriorates, it may cause death. A heart attack occurs three times more often in people addicted to tobacco products at the age of forty to fifty, compared with those who do not smoke.