This year, Ziggicig are supporting Action on Stoke Month. A stroke is a serious condition whereby the blood supply to the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. Smoking is one of the biggest contributors to stroke, however, quitting smoking using e-cigarettes can decrease stroke risk.
What causes a stroke?
With age, our arteries become narrower and harder and are more susceptible to becoming blocked. This blockage reduces and/or prohibits the blood from circulating. When the arteries that supply blood to the brain become blocked, this causes a stroke. Certain medical conditions can speed up the process and increase the risk of stroke. Lifestyle factors such as smoking can also speed up the process.
Smoking & Stroke
Smoking conventional cigarettes doubles the risk of death if you have a stroke, and the more you smoke, the greater the risk of having a stroke.
Tobacco smoke contains over 7,000 toxic chemicals, including: carbon monoxide, cyanide, and formaldehyde. Once inhaled into the lungs, it is absorbed into the bloodstream, damaging, and changing cells all around the body. These changes that the chemicals make increase your risk of stroke. Let us take a deeper look into some of these changes:
Cholesterol
Smoking reduces the amount of good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) in the body and increased the amount of bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol). Having low levels of the good cholesterol in the body increases the risk of stroke.
High Blood Pressure
Smoking increases blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for stroke as it damages the arteries. Smoking is particularly dangerous in smokers who already have high blood pressure as the arteries will narrow at a much faster rate, significantly increasing the risk of stroke.
Platelets
Platelets are a type of blood cell in the body. The chemicals in the smoke make the platelets stick together, increasing the risk of a clot forming in the arteries.
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a process where the arteries become narrowed and harden and results in less blood flowing through the artery and blood clots are more likely to form. If a clot occurs in an artery that connects to the brain, it blocks the blood supply to part of the brain, resulting in a stroke. This type of stroke is known as an ischaemic stroke. Smoking doubles your risk of having an ischaemic stroke.
Make the Switch.
Quitting smoking is tough simply because nicotine is addictive. There are loads of nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) available, however, e-cigarettes are almost twice as effective as other NRT for quitting smoking because nicotine dose is tailor to individual needs.
At Ziggicig, we are here to help you Make that Switch. We will help you pick the right device and right nicotine levels to suit your needs.
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Continue Reading
Stroke Association: What we think about e-cigarettes
Stroke Association: Types of stroke