Why does smoking cause a rise in blood pressure

High Blood Pressure and Smoking

Smoking poses a great threat to the human body and the fact that there are children aged 12 already smoking is an alarming notion. Many health problems may occur due to smoking and it can be related to a sick and unhealthy generation of people.

Causes

The heartbeat and blood pressure are rapidly raised due the effects of smoking. Hypertension or high blood pressure in combination with the increased heart rate can lead to several heart problems such as heart attack or stroke, for example. We will see what the possible effects of the increased blood pressure caused by smoking are. There are many poisonous chemicals (like nicotine) in the tobacco, that can narrow and weaken the blood vessels once they penetrate the bloodstream. Atherosclerosis is the name used for blood vessel narrowing. So the heart has to pump more in order to make the blood flow through these narrowed blood vessels and the blood pressure will rise according to the increase of the heart's effort to pump the blood.

Stroke and paralyses are some of the problems that can occur if the heart is put under a lot of strain when pumping blood. It causes the fibrinogen and cholesterol levels to increase and then the blood begins to clot in the heart and heart attack chances are increased. The body will suffer from impaired oxygen supply due to the nicotine and this strains the heart leading to its harder work in order to distribute the oxygen. The cardiovascular system is affected once the hearts strains under the pressure, which leads to increased blood pressure. The blood flow can be reduced due to the blocked arteries and this can be a result of the buildup of the plaque in the blood vessels. This causes the damage of the blood vessel's inner lining, as well as the blood vessel inflammation. All of this combined, causes the blood pressure increase.

The body protects us from harmful objects and even smoking. First comes a cough, then the burning or pain in the lungs or the throat. Because people become addicted to smoking, these signs are disregarder and overlooked. Many other problems can be caused due to smoking, such as kidney failure, throat and lung cancer. The most common problems associated with smoking are lung disorders, emphysema and several cancer types. These are some of the consequences of a long-term smoking, but some occur after each cigarette and one of them is the increase of the blood pressure.