Smoking is harmful to the body and causes many diseases. The heart and lungs, in particular, are organs that are severely damaged by smoking. Therefore, it is important to understand the dangers of smoking, to not start smoking, to quit immediately if you are already smoking, and to have your heart and lungs checked every year.
Smoking destroys the lungs.
Smoking is directly linked to cancer, including not only lung cancer but also cancers in other parts of the body. The harmful substances in tobacco affect the entire body, and the extent of this effect depends on the amount and duration of smoking. Smoking over a long period, or even in a short period but in large quantities, will have similar effects.
People who have smoked for 30 years or more, or who smoke one or more packs a day ( or 30 -pack or pack-year) , and who are between 55 and 75 years old, or who have smoked for 20 years or more, have a higher risk of lung cancer, combined with other factors such as genetics. Smoking is equivalent to inhaling PM2.5 into your body.
Symptoms that can be observed when smoking affects the lungs include shortness of breath, emphysema, and acute difficulty breathing, which can lead to lung rupture or leakage. Therefore, quitting smoking or quitting smoking improves lung function. In addition, lung cancer patients who quit smoking for more than two weeks have almost the same risk of postoperative complications as non-smokers.
Smoking causes heart attacks
Free radicals in cigarette smoke are a major cause of vascular deterioration, as they destroy the self-protective structures of blood vessels. Arteries that supply blood to vital organs are particularly affected, such as cerebral arteries and cardiovascular arteries. Furthermore, hardening of the artery walls can lead to chronic cardiovascular stenosis, acute myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disorders, leg artery stenosis causing pain, and abdominal aortic aneurysms. People who inhale cigarette smoke absorb the same amount of these chemicals as smokers.
There are two symptoms that can be observed when smoking affects the heart.
- Acute symptoms are caused by the sudden blockage or occlusion of blood vessels, such as sudden chest pain and palpitations.
- Symptoms that develop gradually include fatigue, chest pain, chest tightness, and weakness, as a result of calcium accumulation in the blood vessels.
Furthermore, smoking is also a contributing factor to high blood pressure. Smokers are far more likely to develop high blood pressure than non-smokers, and high blood pressure is increasing, especially among young people, even without a genetic predisposition. High blood pressure increases the risk of arterial narrowing in all organs of the body. In addition, it has been found that people who smoke heavily from a young age develop arterial occlusion problems earlier than the general population.
Let's check your lungs and heart.
Smokers and former smokers should undergo a combination of lung cancer and cardiovascular screening using low-dose CT chest imaging and CT coronary calcium score testing at least every five years . However, high-risk groups should undergo lung cancer screening annually so that treatment plans can be developed quickly if abnormalities are found .
Benefits of the test
- A single CT scan can detect abnormalities in the lungs and heart.
- There are no restrictions on fluid intake or diet.
- The test takes only 10–15 minutes.
- The test results can assess the risk over a five-year period.
What you can do by quitting smoking
The best way to quit smoking is to understand its harmful effects and the harm it causes to your body, and to change your behavior. The harmful substances in cigarettes have an immediate impact once you start smoking and cause persistent inflammation. Even if you quit smoking, health risks remain, but the severity of the illness varies depending on the amount and duration of smoking. Therefore, the best way is to never start smoking, but if you have already started, you should quit immediately.
Furthermore, e-cigarettes, like regular cigarettes, have harmful effects on the body. In particular, they are easily available, more addictive than regular cigarettes, and can lead to longer-term addiction. Therefore, it is important to have accurate knowledge, not start using either cigarettes or e-cigarettes, and quit immediately.
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