Improve blood flow, quit smoking

Blood viscosity is a measure of how “thick” and “sticky” a person’s blood is. By determining the viscosity, doctors could tell how smoothly (or how sluggish) the blood flows through the blood vessels, the degree to which the heart must work, and even the quantity of oxygen that could be delivered to the tissues and organs.

In other words, if the blood is more viscous (thicker and sticky), the heart must work harder to move the blood around the the body. The chance is also high for development atherosclerosis or the clogging of the arteries as well as formation of clots. A clot could travel through the blood vessels and sometimes gets lodged in the narrow part of the artery. This blockade could lead to various cardiovascular ailments—including heart attack and stroke—causing paralysis or even death.

Interestingly, high blood viscosity is often correlated with all known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including age, sex, obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as smoking.

In a study done at the Clinical Research Institute in Kyoto, Japanese researchers were able to correlate blood viscosity to the occurrence of stroke and heart attack, stating that having a more viscous blood is closely related to cigarette smoking as well as cardiovascular risks. The study, which was published in the November 2010 issue of Circulation Journal, also suggests that such risks can be reduced after only three months of smoking cessation.

Indeed, smoking cigarettes exposes the body and some organs like the heart, liver and lungs to toxins like tar, nicotine, arsenic, carbon monoxide and a host of other poisonous substances.

Best chance

Smokers knew this fact but it takes more than nicotine patch or will power to make them kick the habit permanently. There are a lot of different ways to give up smoking, but research shows an individual will have the best chance of quitting if he or she take the following steps:

• Take time to prepare oneself mentally

• Get support and encouragement from people around (family, classmates or co-workers) or professionals.

• Learn new skills and behaviors to help cope with a life without cigarettes.

• Get medication and use it correctly.

• Prepare oneself for difficult situations and setbacks.

But what if one just had a weak moment and smoked a cigarette? Well, that person won’t be the first. According to experts, it is important to get right back on track and not to let a little slip become a full-blown relapse.

One should remember that relapsing doesn’t mean a failure. Instead, use this experience to learn something about oneself and  how to  deal with this and other temptations that will come in the future. Be ready for mood swings as well as depression.

Remember that there are a lot of ways to improve one’s mood other than smoking, like regular exercise and getting enough rest.

Reward

And one will be rewarded: In about 20 minutes after the last cigarette, blood pressure will go down and pulse rate will slow. In about eight hours after quitting, the levels of both carbon monoxide and oxygen in the bloodstream will return to normal.

Within 24 hours, a quitter’s chance of a heart attack has already decreased. About 48 hours after quitting, nerve endings deadened by the habit of smoking are expected to regenerate (sense of taste and smell will improve). A year after quitting, the excess risk of suffering coronary heart disease will have decreased to half the risk of a continuing smoker.

On the 15th year, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a quitter’s risk of coronary heart disease is now comparable to that of a person who never smoked a single cigarette. Now, that’s one more great motivation for quitting.