Smoking - The Hard Facts about Nicotine and how it Causes Hypertension

Based on medical studies, it is said that smoking tobacco or cigarettes can cause your blood pressure level to increase by 5 to 10 mm Hg during the day. It is actually the systolic blood pressure that is largely affected since the systolic blood pressure count increases by at least 20 mm Hg.

Persons already afflicted with hypertension are greatly advised to quit smoking as it can cause further hardening of the arteries and can lead to heart attacks. Although there is no direct link between smoking and the increase of high blood pressure, it is analyzed that blood pressure is a secondary hypertension disorder to cardio vascular diseases.

As nicotine, together with cholesterol and other fat deposits contribute to the hardening of the arteries, which develops through the years, poor blood circulation and blood clots lead to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attacks.

Nicotine substance in cigarettes and how it can lead to hypertension:

• Nicotine as a substance of cigarettes or tobacco has the tendency to constrict blood vessels and arteries, which can cause plaque build-up leading to blood clots.

• As smoke and nicotine passes through the body, the linings of the blood vessels are damaged and hastens the hardening of arterial walls known as atherosclerosis.

• As smoke is inhaled, the smoker also inhales carbon monoxide, which decreases the oxygen supply of the heart, brain and other vital organs.

• Nicotine has the ability to stimulate the production of the hormone epinephrine also known as adrenaline, which causes blood vessels to constrict. Constricted blood vessels are one of the factors in peripheral resistance, wherein blood circulation becomes difficult causing the systolic pressure to build up.

Change of Lifestyle:

Medical advisers say that merely changing your diet to health giving foods and exercising regularly will hardly take any effect in preventing the incidence of high blood pressure attacks if you don’t quit smoking. To support this information below are some facts about cigarette smoking:

Cigarettes are said to contain 4000 chemical compounds and 400 toxic substances.

The damaging products of smoking are:

• Tar, which is a carcinogen which means it is cancer causing.

• Nicotine, which is considered as addictive and has the capacity to increase cholesterol levels.

• Carbon monoxide, which can affect the oxygen supply of the body.

• Other gas components which can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.

Although smoking is identified with breathing problems, often leading to lung cancer, statistics have it that 30% of all fatal heart diseases in the U.S. were linked to smoking due to the hardening of major coronary arteries. These hardened arteries contributed to the incidence of stroke as a result of peripheral vascular disease.