Heart health can be defined as the ability of the heart to perform its functions within the body adequately and smoothly. However, it should not be forgotten that the heart is a complex structure that regulates the entire human body system through multiple vessels.
An average of 5 liters of blood passes through the heart every minute, and our heart acts as a pump that sends this blood to all organs of the body. Even though liters of blood pass through it every minute, the heart is not fed with this blood. The heart has its own feeding vessels and is fed with blood from these vessels. These vessels that feed the heart are called coronary vessels. A problem that may occur in these vessels that surround and nourish the heart directly becomes a heart problem and threatens heart health. In this context, we can say that heart health also means the health of the cardiovascular vessels.
The factors that we are most familiar with that threaten heart health are cardiovascular diseases, but are essentially affected by many negative factors, from nutrition to smoking. . In this regard, we need to address heart diseases in which smoking is an active factor.
What is the Relationship between Smoking and Cardiovascular Diseases?
The heart pumps blood to the whole body, but it obtains its own blood supply through the vessels we call coronary, which surround it and provide nutrition. provides. Maintaining the healthy functioning of heart functions means that these vessels also function healthily. However, the most common cardiovascular diseases and the ones that cause the most deaths are coronary heart diseases.
There is a very strong relationship between cigarette consumption and coronary heart disease. First of all, according to research, the risk of coronary heart diseases is higher in smokers.
Research first conducted in the 1950s on the negative effects of smoking on health revealed that cigarette consumption has a high impact on the formation of coronary heart disease as well as lung cancer. In this care The effects of smoking on the cardiovascular vessels can be listed as follows:
The Relationship Between Smoking and Deterioration of Vascular Structure
Under normal conditions, the inner surface of blood vessels is very delicate and thin. It is covered with a layer of vein and the inner surface of the vein has a smooth structure. With smoking, the thin and smooth structure of the veins deteriorates, making blood flow difficult and slowing down the blood flow within the veins. Due to the slowing down of blood flow, clotting occurs at the edges of the vessels over time. In this case, narrowing of the vein may occur and even blockage of the vein may occur in the future.
Smoking and Atherosclerosis Relationship
The thickening of the artery wall is called atherosclerosis. Although arteriosclerosis is a slowly progressing disease, it is a progressive and life-threatening condition.
In cases of narrowing or occlusion that may occur in the veins, the tissues or organs fed through the veins cannot receive sufficient blood, and this causes damage to the veins over time.
Smoking. Relationship between Good Cholesterol and Blood Cholesterol
Good cholesterol is the type of cholesterol that collects the cholesterol formed in the tissues and allows it to be thrown out. In fact, it is called good cholesterol because of these functions that prevent cholesterol accumulation in tissues and enable it to be excreted. However, with smoking, the amount of this substance in the body, which prevents the accumulation of cholesterol in the tissues, decreases and these vital functions cannot be performed adequately.
The Relationship between Smoking and Bad Cholesterol in the Blood
This substance, called bad cholesterol, carries cholesterol to the tissues and causes it to accumulate in the arteries and other cardiovascular vessels, and even gives its name to it. takes from this function. Smoking increases the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, which can lead to cholesterol accumulation in the heart vessels, which can lead to cardiovascular blockages, which will bring serious health problems.
Balance of Good and Bad Cholesterol in Blood as a Result of Smoking
With smoking, when the good cholesterol in the blood is less than it should be and the bad cholesterol is more than it should be, the balance between these two substances is eliminated. Therefore, smoking disrupts the cholesterol balance in the body and causes vascular diseases by increasing the release of bad cholesterol in the body. Disruption of cholesterol balance in the blood is one of the most important causes of arteriosclerosis.
Smoking and Decreased Blood Fluidity
Decreased blood fluidity in the veins causes the vascular tissue to become damaged. It affects the damage and increases the possibility of arteriosclerosis.
With smoking, carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke mixes with the blood; The likelihood of atherosclerosis occurring increases significantly with carbon monoxide gas entering the blood. The carbon monoxide level in the blood of smokers can reach up to 5%. This situation causes a significant decrease in the blood flow through the vessels, and the decrease in blood flow triggers the emergence of conditions such as hardening of the arteries.
Many other substances in cigarette smoke can have effects that cause arteriosclerosis. Within 5 minutes of smoking, the resistance in the coronary vessels increases by 21% and the amount of blood passing through the coronary vessels decreases by 5%. When smoking becomes continuous, the narrowing of the veins becomes permanent after a while and it becomes increasingly difficult for blood to pass through the veins.
Smoking affects not only the heart vessels but also the arm and leg vessels. The vascular disease directly related to smoking, which we call Burger's disease, can lead to limb loss if smoking is not stopped.
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