Carbon monoxide connects to red blood cells, robbing oxygen from your body it has to have to thrive. It mixes with these cells over 200 times more easily than oxygen, creating a condition known as carboxyhemoglobin saturation.
Carbon monoxide, in place of oxygen, then gets carried to the essential organs via the bloodstream. To put it simply, carbon monoxide deprives your body of oxygen. Organs need oxygen; without it, they begin to suffocate.
Your body needs a long time to get rid of carbon monoxide; however, it can be drawn in much more rapidly.