Carbon monoxide connects with red blood cells, robbing your body of the oxygen it requires to live. It combines with these cells over 200 times more easily than oxygen, creating a condition known as carboxyhemoglobin saturation.
Carbon monoxide, instead of oxygen, then gets carried to the critical organs by the bloodstream. To put it simply, carbon monoxide robs your body of oxygen. Organs have to have oxygen; without it, they begin to suffocate.
Your body requires a long time to get rid of carbon monoxide; however, it can be taken in much more quickly.