New data on smoking and high blood pressure

Smoking interferes with the body’s ability to normalize blood pressure and contributes to the development of hypertension, Newswire reported referring to scientists from the State Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Pennsylvania (US).

Chronic smokers face increased blood pressure for about 2 times higher than non-smokers. Moreover, smokers are also more likely to suffer from a higher resting heart rate and high blood pressure.

"The human body has a buffering system that continuously monitors and maintains a healthy blood pressure," said Dr. Lawrence Sinoway, director of Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute. “If blood pressure drops, a response called muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) is triggered to bring blood pressure back up to normal levels."

Smoking weakens the body’s ability to independently regulate pressure, causing its abnormal jumps, which lead to hypertension.

This discovery is very important because many smokers perceive their habit as a mechanism to combat stress. But, smoking causes even more serious physiological stress and contributes to a number of problems.

"We're hoping to better understand just how much cigarette smoking contributes to the development of hypertension," Sinoway said. "Then, we can try to understand if there are things we can do to intervene and prevent chronic smokers from developing this condition."

Another recent study showed that smoking hookah significantly increases the risk of blood clots, which in turn can cause deadly strokes and heart attacks. Another study proved that second-hand smoke harms the arteries of children and contributes to the development of heart disease.

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