Carbon monoxide attaches to red blood cells, robbing your body of the oxygen it needs to survive. It mixes with these cells over 200 times more easily than oxygen, leading to a condition known as carboxyhemoglobin saturation.
Carbon monoxide, instead of oxygen, then gets brought to the critical organs via the bloodstream. In short, 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 taken in much more rapidly.