10 Causes of Stroke
Cause #5: Tobacco Smoking
Lifestyle habits such as smoking cigarettes can have detrimental effects on your health. When smoking, you introduce a chemical substance known as nicotine into the body. Nicotine is responsible for many effects of cigarette smoking in the body.
In the blood vessels, nicotine promotes narrowing, which slows down blood flow and increases the risk of the formation of blood clots. In addition, nicotine provokes inflammatory reactions that may interfere with the ability of the blood vessels to adjust in size in response to blood pressure changes. Stiffened blood vessels and the risk of blood clot formation due to prolonged smoking can lead to the rupture or blockage of the small blood vessels in the brain and, thereby, cause a stroke.
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