(HealthDay News) — For adults with hypertension on drug therapy, especially men, smoking is associated with lower rates of blood pressure (BP) control, according to a study presented at ACC Latin America 2021, hosted by the American College of Cardiology and held virtually from Nov. 5 to 6.
Márcio Gonçalves de Sousa, MD, PhD, from the Dante Pazzanese institute of Cardiology in São Paulo, Brazil, and colleagues conducted a retrospective evaluation of 710 adults with hypertension. BP was classified as controlled (C: <140/90 mm Hg), S1 (140 to 159 and/or 90 to 99 mm Hg), S2 (160 to 179 and/or 100 to 109 mm Hg), or S3 (>180 and/or >100 mm Hg). Patients were classified according to tobacco use as never smokers (NS), current smokers (CS), or former smokers.
The researchers found that BP control rates were similar for men and women (36.1 and 32.5%, respectively), as was the prevalence of S1 (28.6 vs 22.9%), S2 (18.8 vs 24%), and S3 (16.5 vs 20.7%). BP categorization did not differ by gender for NS (C: 37.1 vs 34.9%; S1: 25.8 vs 22.3%; S2: 22.6 vs 21.7%; and S3: 14.5 vs 21.1%). Lower rates of BP control were seen for men and women who were CS (C: 9.1 vs 25.0%; S1: 30.0 vs 43.8%; S2: 18.2 vs 25.0%; and S3: 45.5 vs 6.3%).
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“There is synergy between these 2 risk factors: hypertension exponentially increases the smoker’s cardiovascular risk and smoking increases the risk of hypertension, thus worsening their control,” Gonçalves de Sousa said in a statement.
