Smoking and Lung Cancer

Next to caffeine, nicotine is the most widely used stimulant, despite its well documented contributions to the overall morbidity and mortality rate. The death rate or people who smoke two or more packets of cigarette is twice as high as that for people who do not smoke.

The second major cause of excess deaths due to smoking is Cancer (next to Drug effect of Nicotine on the circulatory system and heart). In fact most of the Smoking related cancer cases are reported to be Lung Cancer.

Lung Cancer begins with the inhalation of carcinogenic material. Due to over exposure to smoke cilia in lungs get paralyzed and can not function to remove deposited particles.

Cigarette tars or particulate matters deposited on the respiratory passageways comes in contact with the cells, mainly in the underlying epithelial tissues, may cause a slow change in the cells.

The changed cells may then reproduce such modified cells who can multiply very rapidly and compete with the normal cells for nutrients. In this process the normal cells are killed and replaced by those abnormal modified cells. This tremendously affects normal functioning of the respiratory system. This condition ultimately develops into tumor and lung cancer.

The entire process usually takes twenty to thirty years. However, early symptoms may be a change in chronic cough, that the smoker may have had for years, fever and chills, an increase in sputum production, spitting of blood, or a wheeze. A worsening of these symptoms indicates a loss in lung volume and increase in bronchiole obstruction.

Symptoms in the advanced stage include weight loss, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and a generalized weakness. The longer the duration, the more likely the lesion is not surgically removable. Survival time for these cases varies from five to fourteen months after diagnosis. Thirty to fifty percent prove to be treatable ; of those treated, about twenty percent survive for five years.

In other words, if bronchogenic carcinoma is diagnosed in ten people, it is probable that six will die within fourteen months, and two within two to four years, while the last two will die during the fifth year.

Thing again before you light up your next cigarette. Take care.

Source: Drugs: a factual account, 4th ed. - dorothy E. Dusek/ Daniel A Girdano.

How Smoking affects your Heart ?

Most of the excess death among smokers are due to the drug effects of nicotine on the circulatory system, which lead to heart disease. Coronary artery disease accounts for about 45% of the total excess deaths related to smoking. Nicotine as a stimulant, affects the human system in a manner similar to that of amphetamines, i.e. it increases the heart rate and blood pressure and other changes in the functioning of sympathetic nervous system.

Nicotine works in a twofold manner to stimulate the system. First, by primarily eliciting great excitability and then overloading and blocking the synapse. Second, through adrenal hormone release in the blood circulation which excites the sympathetic nervous system.

When a smoker takes nicotine into the lungs, the substance is quickly taken up by the blood and carried to all parts of the body. Then all these excitatory effects caused by nicotine combine to overwork the heart. When a smoker's heart is exposed to such stressful conditions ten, twenty or even more times a day, often in rapid succession, it is almost certain to get a heart disease

The Carbon Monoxide in the gaseous phase of cigarette smoke is thought to decrease cardiac work capacity significantly. Hemoglobin picks up the carbon monoxide from the lungs forming carboxyhemoglobin, which interferes with oxygen delivery.  The affinity of hemoglobin is approximately 245 times greater than its affinity for oxygen. Thus it readily displaces oxygen from hemoglobin, which can harm cardiac tissues in several ways.  Hemoglobin tied up with carbon monoxide can not carry oxygen, so less oxygen will be delivered to the heart resulting in decreased work capacity. 

As a matter of fact Carbon Monoxide has much more to do with cardiac deterioration  as it significantly accelerates the atherosclerotic process, by increasing the permeability of the endothelial (inner lining) layer of the cardiovascular system. As a result plasma leaks into the tissue causing edema, which widens the gap between endothelial cells causing eventual accumulation of lipids in plaques.

Therefore we can say that cigarette smoking is related to cardiovascular disease in the following areas :

1. Increased heart rate.

2. Increased blood pressure.

3. Elevated levels of circulating fats (precursors of atherosclerotic plaques).

4. Reduction of blood clotting time.

5. Reduction of the amount of oxygen delivered to the tissue.

6. Increase in edema, cell separation and deposits of lipids in plaques.

Diabetes

A diabetic patient slowly falls pray of other major diseases, if the blood sugar level is not controlled consistently from the very first stage of detection. One of the serious problems faced by physicians to keep the blood sugar levels of their patients, under check, is the patient’s tendency towards non-compliance and non-adherence to the strict life style, food restrictions and routine intake of medicines prescribed to manage the disease.

As the disease does not create any kind of immediate discomfort, like pain or nausea in the patient, it may be very difficult to convince the patients about the necessity of taking medicines regularly or strictly following a diet chart that may not include his favorites or waking up too early from his cozy bed for a morning walk.

Therefore, it is of extreme importance to educate the patient about the disease, even if it involves an arduous task of interpreting the complicated biochemical reactions in a layman’s language.

There are many functions of the proteins, produced within the body, termed as Hormones. One of them is Insulin, which is directly responsible for reduction of sugar or carbohydrate levels in the blood. However, the production of insulin takes place in the Beta Cells of the organ named Pancreas in our stomach through a complicated biochemical reaction.

Diabetes is a diseased condition of the body where production of Insulin is either insufficient of completely absent. This shortage or absence results in elevated levels of blood sugar, making the blood more viscous, just like a thick solution of sugar.

With a blood too thick to flow smoothly through the blood vessels, a human body slowly develops certain consequent complications. These may include cardiovascular diseases (heart), renal complication (kidney), Glaucoma (eye), Gangrene (any organ) to name a few.

All the vital organs require sufficient supply of blood to function properly and this supply is maintained through a network of delicate set of blood vessels at the tissue and cellular levels. The arteries and more thinner forms of pipe lines those carry blood to the tissues and cells, get damaged due to heavy loads exerted on them by the thicker blood. This leads to damage of the delicate vessels and eventually disease of the organ, may be heart or kidney, develops.

Apart from medications, other forms of control are exercise, dieting and meditation. Therefore, it is extremely important to regularly check-up your blood glucose levels and keeping in touch with your doctor.

Keep healthy, Keep smiling !

Health of Your Heart

In most of the westernized countries, cardiovascular disease is the prime cause of mortality in adults. This is also a major cause of dementia, social disruption and loss of income. In United States alone, the most advanced nation in the world, nearly one million persons die from cardiovascular disease each year, and almost three times as many sufferers remain unrecognized.

In India, reported incidence of hypertension is around 6 to 14 percent in the urban population. The figures are only according to available data, and the actual number of hypertensive patients in such countries is well beyond our imagination and the disease is spreading like fire.

The greatest threat and the most common indicator to the cardiovascular disease is Hypertension.

Blood Pressure or Hypertension is difficult to diagnose from superficial observations, because there are hardly any symptoms directly attributed to the disease. There is no rigid line of differentiation between the Normotensive and Hypertensive conditions. It is the rather a level of blood pressure at which intervention is justified. Hypertension is diagnosed after at least three measurement of B.P. at the same time, on different days. A persistently elevated level of blood pressure is termed as hypertension, when the systolic B.P. is more than 140 mm Hg or the diastolic B.P. is more than 90 mm Hg.

The other common factors apart from hypertension, that significantly increase the load on the heart are:

• Cigarette smoking
• Alcoholism
• Obesity
• Lack of regular exercise
• Diabetes
• High blood cholesterol level

Any of the above conditions may well lead to serious heart complications. Recently smoking and obesity has been included in the list of disease. Diabetes is one of the fastest spreading diseases of our age. In this busy world taking out some time for exercise seems to be impossible for most of us. Sleepless nights coupled with stress and use of alcohol in excess worsens the situation in most cases.

It is therefore extremely important even for a layman to be acquainted to the most common forms of Heart Complications. The proper understanding of the very common symptoms and the general causes of heart disease are very much required to prevent or manage the disease.

The most common forms of complications associated with Heart are:

• Coronary Artery Disease (CAD): in this condition the heart muscles receive insufficient supply of blood because of artery blockage and spasms, which results in death of the cells and eventual heart attack.
• Myocardial Infarction (MI): Death of heart muscle cells as explained above is known as MI.
• Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD): this condition is typical when the heart muscles do not get required amount of oxygen.
• Angina: also known as Cry of the heart, is result of Ischemia. The severe chest pain lasts for a short time, 1-10 minutes and is a symptom of IHD.
• Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH): the left ventricle of the heart, due to over loads in associated diseased conditions significantly increases in size. This condition leads to further complications like CCF or IHD due to loss of efficiency in pumping out blood.
• Congestive Cardiac Failure (CCF): the heart fails when it is unable to maintain the output level required by the body.

Though there are different kind of treatments and medical remedies available, specific to different types of heart complications, it is always advisable to avoid the common risk factors as far as possible. A healthy heart is the biggest asset one may possess. To keep the heart healthy one should do all the sacrifices it may need with a smiling face.