Focusing on smoking, however, what are the dangers inherent in nicotine? It is the arterial system in general and the coronary arteries in particular that are affected by nicotine. If the addict has constitutionally weak blood vessels to start with, the danger of smoking will be all the greater for him. The vessels lose their elasticity, become progressively narrower and thus restrict the flow of blood to the heart, the walls of which are poorly nourished and begin to deteriorate.
If we could see through the chest and look at the heart we would be shocked to notice the change in its appearance under the influence of chronic nicotine poisoning. The delicate, toned muscles become relaxed and their beautiful red colour gradually changes to a dirty brown. If a person’s heart muscles constantly suffer from lack of adequate nourishment, they will begin to look like those of a very old person. Pathological anatomy speaks of ‘brown atrophy’ in describing such cases, because the worn-out brownish pigments are deposited in individual cells of the heart muscles. In addition, a number of small white streaks are noticeable. These indicate that minute particles of the muscle itself have been destroyed and are now replaced by connective, or scar, tissue. Once the tissues of the heart muscles have been ruined, they cannot be replaced, not even by the best possible natural remedies. All one can do is to strengthen whatever undamaged tissue is left so that it can now do the work that had previously been done by the scarred tissue.
*1163/28/1*
