



We see the blood clotted and blood flow to the section of the heart that this artery was supplying was cut off. What will result is that a portion of the heart muscle that was supposed to get that blood flow suffocates and dies within a matter of minutes.

Above we see infarcted (dead) heart muscle (myocardial infarction). The tissue is literally brittle as illustrated by the cracking effect. Instead of being able to pump blood, this area whole section of muscle is no longer able to be utilized for its life sustaining function. Again, smokers get this much more often because of the effects of nicotine and carbon monoxide. Nicotine having all the direct effects on the heart itself, carbon monoxide robbing the oxygen supply, and both chemicals increasing clotting as well as clogging factors in the blood. If the section of the heart affected was larger enough the smoker would die from the first attack. Often smaller areas are affected and the patient can survive but has lost that specific section of the heart and may have permanent impairments from the now limited supply of heart tissue.
Tomorrow I will start to build on this clogging vs clotting issue and how it relates to the brain. Then on Monday I will get to the peripheral vascular issues. The pictures will come. Please be patient, don't hold your breath waiting (which you can probably do longer now than you could before when you were still smoking since you probably have better lung capacity and more oxygen being utilized with every breath you take. In the interim your heart will be pumping away at an overall normal pace, oxygen flowing throughout your body, fat levels staying normal for you, not artificially being boosted with every puff you take. To keep your body mechanics working in a way it was designed to last the longest and giving you the optimal level of health over your lifetime, always remember to never take another puff!
Joel

