Smoke may trigger coronary artery spasms, which can cause the vessel to constrict and decrease blood supply to the heart muscle. HDL levels, the good cholesterol, can decrease. The possibility of having irregular heart beats increases. Heart rate and blood pressure will be lower. The heart muscle receives more oxygen.
Blood pressure is the amount of pressure the circulating blood puts on the artery walls.
Each time the heart contracts or beats, blood is pumped out and creates pressure in the arteries. This surge of pressure is known as systolic pressure and is the top number of the blood pressure reading. Each time the heart relaxes between beats, the blood pressure will go down. This is known as the diastolic pressure and is the bottom number of the blood pressure reading. It increases the workload of the heart, causing the heart muscle to become enlarged over time.