Smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease in hypertensive patients by 2 to 3 times, but this increased risk declines rapidly within 2 to 3 years of quitting.
Does smoking cessation reduce coronary heart disease risk in hypertensive patients?
Persuading hypertensive patients to quit smoking is the single most effective measure to reduce their risk of coronary heart disease.
Effect estimate: 2 to 3 times increased risk
Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death in hypertensives--about twice as common as stroke. Smoking increases this raised risk of hypertension by some 2 to 3 times. Surprisingly perhaps, this increased risk from smoking declines rapidly on quitting--within 2-3 years. Smoking increases the risks of vascular damage by increasing sympathetic tone, platelet stickiness and reactivity, free radical production, damage to endothelium, and by surges in arterial pressure. The latter may interfere with the action of some hypotensive agents. Persuading hypertensive patients not to smoke is the single most effective measure we can take to reduce their risk.
Peter Sleight (Fri,) conducted a review in Hypertension. Smoking vs. Non-smoking or quitting smoking was evaluated on Coronary heart disease risk (2 to 3 times increased risk). Smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease in hypertensive patients by 2 to 3 times, but this increased risk declines rapidly within 2 to 3 years of quitting.