Carbon monoxide connects with red blood cells, stealing oxygen from your body it needs to live. It combines with these cells more than 200 times more easily than oxygen, creating a condition known as carboxyhemoglobin saturation.
Carbon monoxide, instead of oxygen, then gets brought to the critical 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 requires a long time to get rid of carbon monoxide; however, it can be drawn in much more rapidly.