The relationship between smoking and coronary heart disease

When the blood is pumped through the heart, the nicotine from the cigarettes also builds up in the blood stream.

Smoking is possibly the highest risk factor for coronary heart disease. The toxins will float around within the blood which causes the hardening of the arteries which puts people at greater risk for having a heart attack or heart failure.

Smoking affects the blood which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. It is found that smokers have higher levels of fibrinogen which can cause blood clots, increased blood viscosity and lower levels of oxygenated blood, this is because carbon monoxide attaches itself to the hemoglobin more easily than it can to oxygen.

One in eight cardiovascular deaths were attributable to smoking, if you have already had a heart attack, quitting smoking reduces the risk of having a fatal heart attack by 25 per cent.

Women who smoke and use contraceptive pills increase the risk of coronary heart disease by several times.

Smoking and lung cancer

Lung cancer usually starts in the lining of the bronchi, but can also begin in areas such as the trachea, bronchioles or the alveoli.

Lung cancer is when cells become abnormal and grow out of control, they form a clump which is called a tumour. Lung cancer develops in your airways however it can grow inside the lung and can even spread to outside the lung. If it spreads outside the lung it becomes incurable.

The more cigarettes you smoke the more at risk you become of getting lung cancer. It can take many years to develop, the main age group for this disease is 55-65 years old.

The cancer is located and it starts with affecting the first few layers of cells, then the cancer is located in the lungs and the tissues surrounding them are normal. The cancer then spreads from the lungs and affects the lymph nodes near the lungs, then the cancer spreads to other organs which surrounds the lungs such as the diaphragm and the chest walls, the cancer can then spread to all other parts of the body.

Cancer can develop in the lungs in two ways. It can start in the lungs which is called primary lung cancer or it can spread to the lungs from other parts of the body. If it does start from other parts of the body and spread to the lungs it is known as secondary or metastatic lung cancer.

Cancerous tumours are made up of cells, these cells can break away from the primary cancer and travel through the blood stream or the lymphatic system to other parts of the body.

The tar from cigarettes sticks to the cilia which lines the airways in the lungs. The cilia normally cleans out any dirt but when you smoke a cigarette and the tar sticks to it, it cant do its job properly so dirt stays in the lungs and causes problems. Mucus also piles up and overtime the cilia dies and the lungs are exposed to more dangerous substances.