Founder of HealthDesk Africa Alhassan Seidu has revealed that smoking can cause hypertension, which is one of the predominant risk factors for the development of several cardiovascular diseases.
Speaking on Campus Exclusive earlier today, he explained that the nicotine present in cigarettes and tobacco hardens blood vessels and stimulates the release of hormones that increase blood pressure, hence the formation of hypertension.
“Everything that has to do with smoke is dangerous because of the nicotine it contains. So when you are taking smoke the nicotine has the capacity of hardening your blood vessel. So it sort of damages your lungs alveolar and then the lung tissue to take in oxygen and then oxygen is your blood. It means you might breathe all right, but you want to be able to take in enough oxygen into the blood or it might just be that the tissues are even damaged to the extent that they can’t release the carbon dioxide that the system is supposed to take out when the blood gets there. And when the blood is coming it can go so you have to push it with more force. That’s where your hypertension develop.”
He advised that it is prudent for individuals to remain active in order to keep the heart healthy.
“You just have to be active they just do a lot of dancing as well and that will help even though sometimes people know exactly what to do.”
He also urged individuals to check their diet and particularly limiting the consumption of fatty foods and alcohol.
“And another one is through your diet. If you limit your consumption of the fat in the first place, it will be deposited in the first place for you to need exercise to push it away; we should also stop smoking. We established that alcohol is not only toxic to your liver and to other parts of your system, it just gives you as much as 7 calories gram as compared to carbohydrates. So if you are taking in so much alcohol to, you would need to watch your your drinking.”
