Blood viscosity is a measure of how “thick” and “sticky” a person’s blood is. By determining viscosity, doctors could determine how blood flows through blood vessels, how hard the heart has to work, and even the amount of oxygen that can be delivered to tissues and organs.
In other words, if the blood is more viscous (thicker and sticky), the heart needs to work more to distribute the blood throughout the body. The chances of developing atherosclerosis or clogging the arteries and blood clots are high. A blood clot could move through the blood vessels and then get stuck in a narrow section of the artery. This blockage can lead to various cardiovascular diseases – including heart attacks and strokes – and to paralysis or even death.
Interestingly, high blood viscosity often correlates with all known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including age, gender, obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance, hypertension, and smoking.
In a study conducted at the Kyoto Clinical Research Institute, Japanese researchers found that blood viscosity is related to the frequency of stroke and heart attack. As a result, more viscous blood is closely related to cigarette smoking and cardiovascular risks. Smoking cigarettes exposes the body and some organs such as the heart, liver and lungs to toxins such as tar, nicotine, arsenic, carbon monoxide and a variety of other toxic substances.
What Happens to Your Body When You Quit Smoking?
About 20 minutes after the last cigarette, your blood pressure drops and your pulse normalizes. After about eight hours, the oxygen and carbon monoxide levels return to normal. After 24 hours, the probability of a heart attack decreases enormously. In addition, your circulation regenerates.
After 48 hours, the nerve endings (sense of taste and smell) affected by smoking regenerate.
After a few weeks you will notice how your lung function improves (sport) and your skin becomes more beautiful. You look healthier and annoying dark circles can also disappear. After one year, the risk of a sleep attack or heart attack has dropped to 50% of the value of a smoker. After 15 years, the entire health cycle has returned to normal and the risk of lung and heart disease is comparable to that of a non-smoker.
Conclusion
It’s never too late to quit smoking. As already mentioned, the healing process starts after about 20 minutes after the last cigarette. Nowadays there are many ways to help you quit smoking completely. In addition to nicotine patches, nicotine chewing gums and sweets, homeopathic medication, acupuncture, there are apps to help you fight possible withdrawal symptoms so that you can lead a nice smoke-free life.
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