Smoking Is the Leading Cause of Vascular Damage: The Darker Your Teeth, the More “Blackened” Your Bl

Almost all smokers have had this experience: after smoking for a long time, not only do they cough and suffer from pharyngitis, but even their teeth start to "misbehave," turning from originally white to a dark color, affecting their appearance. But did you know? This is not the most concerning issue. The darker the teeth, the longer the smoking duration, and the greater the damage to the blood vessels.

The darker the teeth, the "blacker" the cardiovascular health.

"In fact, the darker the teeth, the more 'blackened' the cardiovascular health!" Zhang Jiwei, the director of the vascular surgery department at Renji Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, emphasized the long-term damage of continuous smoking to cardiovascular health in vivid terms. "Actually, the cardiovascular system is different from the lungs. In clinical practice, we have seen lungs turn black due to smoking, but blood vessels, no matter how damaged, will never turn black. The 'black' here actually refers to the damage to the cardiovascular system." Zhang Jiwei stated that many vascular diseases do not show symptoms immediately, but teeth can serve as a good warning. The more one smokes and the longer the duration, the more harmful substances like nicotine accumulate in the body, leading to darker teeth and greater damage to organs like the cardiovascular system.

Smoking particularly easily causes vascular dysfunction.

Zhang Jiwei introduced that smoking is one of the biggest culprits leading to vascular dysfunction in the human body. Among the many risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, smoking ranks second, just after old age. "Even if you were previously healthy, smoking two packs a day will definitely leave toxins in your blood vessels, making them weaker over time," Zhang Jiwei said. Research by American scientists over more than 50 years shows that smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 2-3 times.

Smoking has "seven deadly sins" for cardiovascular health.

He Yubin, chief physician at the cardiovascular disease center of Beijing Military Region General Hospital, explained that when a person smokes, they inhale a large amount of nicotine, and the toxic substances contained within affect the cardiovascular system, blood lipids, and blood coagulation functions, leading to hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, sudden cardiac death, coronary heart disease, and other cardiovascular diseases. "Overall, smoking has 'seven major sins' against cardiovascular health, and once blood vessels turn 'black,' many problems will arise uninvited."

First, smoking increases the secretion of adrenaline and norepinephrine, which can speed up the heart rate and raise blood pressure. Second, it causes atherosclerosis. As the saying goes, "A person lives as long as their arteries do." If there are issues with the arteries, organs like the heart, brain, and kidneys will be affected, and once blockages occur, the consequences are unimaginable, leading to heart attacks, strokes, renal embolism, and intestinal embolism. Third, it can induce sudden death. Smokers with coronary heart disease may trigger ventricular fibrillation, which is the leading cause of sudden death. Fourth, it leads to thromboangiitis obliterans, and the more one smokes, the more severe the condition. Fifth, it promotes blood clot formation, increasing the risk of thrombosis. Sixth, it reduces the body's ability to sense the warning signs of heart disease. Nicotine suppresses normal pain perception, affecting people's awareness of heart disease's "alarm system"—angina pectoris—leading to sudden heart attacks or even sudden death. Seventh, it affects blood lipids and blood sugar. There is ample evidence that cardiovascular diseases are the primary "dangerous condition" for diabetes, and impaired blood sugar directly harms cardiovascular health.

"Currently, cardiovascular diseases have become the leading killer threatening the lives of people in our country. We must not wait until problems become irreparable before taking action; we need to start paying attention to the subtle signs of cardiovascular diseases now," He Yubin said. In addition to darkened teeth indicating the extent of cardiovascular damage, symptoms like erectile dysfunction, snoring, especially sleep apnea syndrome, being overweight, and cold hands and feet in cold weather may also signal cardiovascular diseases.

Moreover, some symptoms require special attention, such as frequently feeling palpitations or chest tightness; experiencing pain in the chest area or radiating pain in the left arm during exertion; feeling particularly uncomfortable in the chest when sitting up suddenly in the morning; experiencing severe chest tightness after meals, sometimes accompanied by cold sweats; feeling uncomfortable and unable to lie flat at night; experiencing rapid heartbeat and noticeable discomfort in the chest during emotional excitement; feeling chest tightness, shortness of breath, and rapid heartbeat after walking for a while or at a faster pace; feeling particularly fatigued when climbing stairs or doing tasks that were previously easy, needing several breaks to finish, and experiencing chest tightness and shortness of breath; feeling overall fatigue and unwilling to talk.

How to stay away from cardiovascular diseases.

In this regard, Professor Hu Dayi, the incoming chairman of the Cardiovascular Disease Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, suggests that lifestyle is the source of many disease risk factors. By establishing a preventive awareness and healthy lifestyle habits, people can stay away from cardiovascular diseases. #p#分页标题#e#

First, quitting smoking is the most controllable factor in preventing cardiovascular diseases, and it has been proven that it is never too late to quit smoking, as the benefits are immense. Data shows that 15 years after quitting smoking, the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases is not much different from that of non-smokers.

Second, maintain a reasonable dietary structure. Eat less high-fat, high-calorie foods, reduce salt and fried foods, avoid snacks like cookies and chips that contain saturated fatty acids, and consume more fruits high in vitamin C, such as mangoes, papayas, grapes, and grapefruits. Eat less red meat and more fish, especially deep-sea fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon.

Third, maintain regular exercise and control waist circumference. Prolonged sitting is detrimental to health, so ensure at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily, such as running or walking, to effectively control weight.

Finally, maintain a cheerful disposition. Even in the fast-paced modern society, learn to vent and find ways to relieve stress, allowing life to "slow down." (Lin Qing)