Smoking and Blood Pressure

When smoking tobacco products there is an immediate short-lived increase in blood pressure.

The nicotine in cigarettes causes contraction of blood vessels, which makes them narrower. This narrowing of the arteries results in higher blood pressure that, of course, also means that the heart has to work harder to push the blood through the body. For a smoker who smokes several packs a day, blood pressure is going to be cycling up and down. A very heavy smoker may find that blood pressure may stay high for most of the day.

Smoking increases the risk of sustained high blood pressure

A much quoted recent study showed that women who smoked two packs of cigarettes had a 21% increased risk of getting high blood pressure.

Most, but not all, researchers think that smoking, itself, does not directly cause a persistent increase in blood pressure. The effects on blood pressure are thought to be indirect. In other words, the damage that smoking does to the heart and arteries, then contributes to high blood pressure. However, whatever the mechanism, the bottom line is that smoking increases the likelihood of getting high blood pressure.

There is some evidence that smoking causes a greater increase in blood pressure in those smokers who already have high blood pressure, than those who have (resting) normal blood pressure.

Smoking increases the rate of atherosclerois and the risk of cardiovascular disease

Smokers with high blood pressure have a higher risk of cardiovascular problems, such as heart attack, than non-smokers with high blood pressure.