Death in less than 20 minutes. It is a chemical formed when one atom of carbon links with one atom of oxygen. When carbon monoxide is absorbed through the lungs, it reacts with blood hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin, which in turn dramatically reduces the ability of your blood to carry oxygen. The end result, if sufficient carbon monoxide is present, is asphyxiation. Blood has 200 times the affinity for carbon monoxide as it does for oxygen.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, invisible, and very toxic gas.
It is the product of incomplete combustion. Every year, according to national statistics, hundreds of deaths are recorded from carbon monoxide produced by malfunctioning or improperly vented heating appliances. Many more people suffer chronic illness brought on by less than lethal carbon monoxide levels that go undetected. These are generally but not always the sequence of symptoms. They may change for different people or different conditions.