Does Smoking Cause High Blood Pressure?

You may wonder: Does smoking cause high blood pressure? While smoking does not cause high blood pressure all by itself, it is a big risk factor for heart disease. Also, smoking does cause a narrowing of blood vessels, so people who smoke are at an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. People with high blood pressure should quit smoking. If you're not smoking, don't start.

 
 

Does Smoking Cause High Blood Pressure? -- An Introduction

Smoking does not cause high blood pressure. Smoking will raise a person's blood pressure temporarily, but once the chemicals from smoking are removed, blood pressure will decrease to its normal level.
 

Does Smoking Cause High Blood Pressure? -- Concerns About Smoking and High Blood Pressure

Although smoking does not directly cause high blood pressure (also known as
 hypertension), it is a big risk factor for heart disease. Smoking causes a narrowing of blood vessels from the chemicals in the cigarettes, and it also speeds up the process of atherosclerosis (the narrowing of blood vessels). So people who smoke are at increased risk for a heart attack or stroke.
 
If you smoke, quit. If you don't smoke, don't start. Once you quit, your risk of having a heart attack is reduced after the first year, so you have a lot to gain by quitting.
 
(Click Smoking and High Blood Pressure for tips on how to quit smoking.)
 
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD