The Heart

When you smoke a cigarette, your body immediately feels the effects of chemicals in the tobacco and the tobacco smoke. Your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate increase. This means more oxygen is needed by your heart as well as other organs and tissues of your body. Over time, the harmful chemicals found in tobacco products damage the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle with oxygen and needed nutrients. This condition is called atherosclerosis and can lead to a heart attack. A heart attack can happen when your heart muscle does not get enough oxygen. Pain may occur in the middle of the chest but sometimes in the arms, throat, back, and abdomen. It can even cause death. More than 400,000 people die in the United States every year from smoking. Almost half of those deaths are due to cardiovascular disease, including the effects from atherosclerosis.

Arteriosclerosis vs Atherosclerosis

Arteriosclerosis is also known as hardening of the arteries. The stiffness is caused by the walls of the artery becoming less elastic.

Arteriosclerosis can lead to another condition, called Atherosclerosis. This condition is characterized by the build up of cholesterol deposits on the inside of the artery walls. When this happens, the artery can become blocked. When an artery is blocked, the blood traveling in it can not reach its destination. This can cause a heart attack or a stroke.