Smoking and hypertension: effects on clinical, biochemical and pathological variables due to isolated or combined action on cardiovascular system.

Changes in clinical, biochemical and pathological variables characterize cardiovascular damage from smoking and hypertension when it acts independently. However, combined action of these major risk factors increases the rate of cardiovascular events. Ischaemic heart disease with stable effort angina, myocardial infarction and post-infarction arrhythmias may affect cardiovascular system because of smoking exposure. Among cerebrovascular disease, there is evidence that stroke would be related primarily to active smoking. Isolated hypertension plays significantly major action to cause cerebrovascular disease including stroke, recurrent stoke and transient ischaemic attack. Among cardiac events, heart failure is, often, the end-point of hypertensive disease, even if manifestations of ischaemic heart disease similar to those caused by smoking may be increased in rate. Combined action of smoking and hypertension usually increases the rate of cardiovascular complications and leads to a progression of atherosclerosis with narrowing and plaque primarily at the the level of coronary, carotid and cerebrovascular arteries. A pattern specific of both active and passive smoking exposure, but not hypertension, is the thromboangiitis obliterans that dramatically worsens in continuing smokers while it can be improved by stopping smoking.