Risk Factor
It has yet to be established that smoking is an actual cause of hypertension, because the cause is unknown for most people with high blood pressure. But smoking is considered a risk factor. It is wise for people suffering from hypertension to avoid or quit smoking, which can increase already elevated levels of blood pressure. Research shows smoking makes a strong contribution towards increasing the acidity in the blood and stifling its flow, having a direct effect on the heart. Smoking can cause other problems throughout the body because it raises blood pressure with each cigarette. It not only affects the heart and lungs, but it can complicate kidney function by increasing blood pressure. Many smokers get seriously ill or die because of the complications smoking causes. Smoking along with drinking alcohol or coffee compounds the negative effects in the body because the combination acts strongly in increasing blood pressure rates.
Smokes a Day
The incidence of hypertension increases among people who smoke 15 or more cigarettes a day, according to a study by the Massachusetts Veterans Affairs Epidemiology, Research and Information Center in Boston, published in the November 2007 issue of Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The journal reported in March 2006 on another smoking study at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, in Baltimore, Maryland. It showed smoking can produce hypertension and the weakening of the left ventricle of the heart in people who previously had no symptoms of high blood pressure.
Body Weight
Habitual smokers have been shown to have lower blood pressures than nonsmokers, according to a study at Bispebjerg University Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark and reported in the American Journal of Hypertension in May 1997. But this mild reduction of blood pressure may be related to decreased body weight, says Dr. Norman M. Kaplan, clinical professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. With each cigarette a smoker's blood pressure rises briefly, even in smokers who have no signs of high blood pressure, he says.
Reduce Risk
The cause of hypertension is unknown in 90 percent of people with high blood pressure, according to Netdoctor, a British health website. However, it lists smoking as one of the factors in increasing the risk of hypertension. Even if blood pressure rises only briefly with each cigarette, that can eventually lead to hypertension for a heavy smoker. Smoking, losing weight, exercising, cutting down on alcohol, eating a healthy diet and reducing stress through relaxation techniques are among the ways to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
