How does tobacco use increase cardiovascular disease risk?

How does tobacco use increase cardiovascular disease risk?

• A. Nicotine and other chemicals cause vasoconstriction and promote atherosclerosis; carbon monoxide reduces blood oxygen, increasing heart strain.
• B. It reduces heart rate and improves oxygen delivery
• C. It has no effect on heart health
• D. It only affects lungs, not heart

Answer: (A)

Tobacco use harms the cardiovascular system by triggering forces that raise the heart’s workload and damage blood vessels. Nicotine stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, causing vasoconstriction and raising heart rate and blood pressure. That makes the heart work harder and increases the risk of chest pain, heart attack, and stroke. Carbon monoxide from smoke binds to hemoglobin, reducing the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity, so the heart must pump more to meet the body’s oxygen needs, increasing strain. Together with other cigarette smoke chemicals that promote inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, these changes drive the development of atherosclerosis. This explains why the description focusing on vasoconstriction and atherosclerosis from nicotine and other chemicals, plus reduced oxygen delivery from carbon monoxide, best accounts for how tobacco raises cardiovascular disease risk.

Tobacco use harms the cardiovascular system by triggering forces that raise the heart’s workload and damage blood vessels. Nicotine stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, causing vasoconstriction and raising heart rate and blood pressure. That makes the heart work harder and increases the risk of chest pain, heart attack, and stroke. Carbon monoxide from smoke binds to hemoglobin, reducing the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity, so the heart must pump more to meet the body’s oxygen needs, increasing strain. Together with other cigarette smoke chemicals that promote inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, these changes drive the development of atherosclerosis. This explains why the description focusing on vasoconstriction and atherosclerosis from nicotine and other chemicals, plus reduced oxygen delivery from carbon monoxide, best accounts for how tobacco raises cardiovascular disease risk.