Stopping smoking is good for your all-around health.

Smoking causes an immediate but temporary increase in your blood pressure and an increase in your heart rate.

In the long term, the chemicals in tobacco can increase your blood pressure by damaging your blood vessel walls, causing inflammation, and narrowing your arteries. The hardened arteries cause higher blood pressure.

The chemicals in tobacco can affect your blood vessels even if you’re around secondhand smoke.

A study showed that children around secondhand smoke in the home had higher blood pressure than those from nonsmoking homes.

If your blood pressure is very high or doesn’t decrease after making these lifestyle changes, your doctor may recommend prescription drugs.

They work and will improve your long-term outcome, especially if you have other risk factors.

However, it can take some time to find the right combination of medications.

Talk with your doctor about possible medications and what might work best for you.