Carbon monoxide attaches to red blood cells, robbing your body of the oxygen it requires to survive. It mixes with these cells more than 200 times more smoothly than oxygen, creating a condition known as carboxyhemoglobin saturation.
Carbon monoxide, in place of oxygen, then gets carried to the essential organs through the bloodstream. Simply put, carbon monoxide starves your body of oxygen. Organs require oxygen; without it, they begin to suffocate.
Your body requires a long time to eliminate carbon monoxide; however, it can be absorbed much faster.