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, resulting in a condition known as carboxyhemoglobin saturation.
Carbon monoxide, on lieu of oxygen, then gets taken to the critical organs via the bloodstream. Simply put, carbon monoxide robs your body of oxygen. Organs have to have oxygen; without it, they begin to suffocate.
Your body needs a long time to get rid of carbon monoxide; however, it can be taken in much faster.