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Smoking increases blood pressure in women

The more cigarettes a woman smokes each day, the greater the risk of suffering from high blood pressure and heart disease, according to research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The research

The Women's Health Study collected data on over 28,000 women over a 9 year period. Of these, 30% developed high blood pressure.

The findings

The researchers found that the more cigarettes smoked the greater the risk. They found;

• women who smoked 15 or more cigarettes a day had a 11% greater risk of developing high blood pressure, compared with women who never smoked.
• Women who smoked 25 or more cigarettes a day had a 21% greater risk.

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