Smoking Causes High Blood Pressure But Is It Fact?
It has been thoroughly researched and found that smoking causes high blood pressure temporarily by restricting blood vessels.
You may not know what`s causing yours in particular if you suffer from it, but if you smoke, then this article should convince you why avoiding such a strong contributing factor can help eliminate the symptoms and in some cases, rectify the damage.
If you smoke or have ever smoked, you already know the calming effect a cigarette has on you. The longer you go without one, the more relaxing and calming the effect will be when you do have one. But like any stimulant, the nicotine can also increase anxiety, one of many smoking symptoms. If this sounds contradictory, I can assure you, it isn`t.
An addiction or dependency develops when a smoker regularly takes in nicotine. The relaxed feeling they experience is the nicotine acting as a stimulant, improving mood and alertness. Stimulation also causes anxiety and hyperactivity, but when the body doesn`t receive nicotine, the smoker experiences negative reactions and a craving. This is an outward manifestation of dependency, the physical and psychological effects.
Some researchers say that smoking is not associated with an increase in the development of hypertension, but rather that it has only a temporary, immediate effect, raising blood pressure 5 to 10 mmHg, and true, this temporary raising is partly due to the constricting of blood vessels, a smoking symptom.
If your are a smoker and are experiencing pains in your legs it could be the result of your blood vessels and capillaries being constricted, causing poor circulation.
But consider this! Doctors agree that smoking increases the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases, so secondary high blood pressure must be a risk also?
The reason I find this quite disturbing is that smoking is known to cause free radical damage to artery, vein and capillary walls, a main factor known to contribute to atherosclerosis (hardening of the artery walls); a link to the formation of heart and blood vessel disease. Are they not missing something here? Does this not stand to reason that indirectly smoking causes high blood pressure?
Damage to the Arteries
When hardening of the arteries develops, flexibility is lost. Damage incurs, so the body tries to repair it from underneath the artery wall.
This can cause a protective casing or scab to form, and if there is repeated stress on the vessel walls, scaring eventually will occur, one of the main and real causes of blockage that constricts blood flow. In turn the heart will need to pump harder and blood pressure can rise.
The pressure of the blood can cause further damage to the blood vessel walls and the whole scenario escalates. So other research studies are telling us there is a high chance smoking causes high blood pressure.
What do you think? The American Heart Association reports that a smoker`s risk of heart attack is twice that of a non-smoker, and that if you stop the damage can be repaired. They also report that it damages the linings of blood vessels. Hmmm? Now ask yourself, why?
Are there research results showing, that passive smoking causes high blood pressure?
Again studies have pointed to the dangers of passive smoking on our children. As with direct, passive smoking also can damage and constrict their blood vessels.
That knowledge alone should prompt anyone to stop or never to take up the habit. If there is any proof, then I am sure most of us would not take that chance and inflict it upon others.
You can understand why many of the worlds governments are now restricting or putting outright bans on public smoking? If you are trying to stop the habit but found it difficult, Quit Smoking is packed with information on how to succeed.
I have often heard family and colleagues say that they have smoked for a long time, and so have asked the question,”If smoking causes high blood pressure or any other disease for that matter, like cancer, then why have I not become ill?” Here is one answer that could be the reason.
Organs such as the heart, kidneys and brain have a resilience to stress, and can continue working under harsh treatment or an unhealthy environment for a long time. Nevertheless, as the saying goes but is not exactly true, “what the eyes don`t see, the heart doesn`t grieve over”.
You may not see or feel that anything is wrong for years even when damage is being done, but eventually those organs will reach failing point. That`s when high blood pressure becomes critical and can cause stroke, kidney failure and heart attack. I say, is it worth the risk?
A study mentioned in the February 2002 issue of the Journal of Hypertension showed that smoking does raise blood pressure. When people stop using tobacco products, their blood pressure falls.
The tests involved 12,417 men divided into different categories.
Smokers, previous smokers, and non smokers. The first group were more susceptible to high blood pressure, whereas there was a decrease in the chances of previous smokers and even less with non-smokers. A strong indicator indeed where the evidence is pointing.
<P>I stated at the beginning of this article that you should choose for yourself. I am inclined to say yes, I think smoking causes high blood pressure.<P>I used to smoke years ago but never realized how much damage smoking really does. Who in their right mind wants to inflict injury upon themselves such as hypertension, cancer or kidney damage.Our concern should not only be about the pollution of our planet, so prominent in the news today, but also about the pollution of our own bodies.