Light cigarette smoking and vascular function

Abstract

Objective The present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that smoking induces peripheral endothelial dysfunction and altered function in central conduit arteries. Methods A total of 22 healthy volunteers (10 women and 12 men; mean age 25.3 +/- 5.8 years) were included. At baseline, brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), aortic stiffness index (ASI), aortic distensibility (AoD), and aortic elastic modulus (AoEM) of all subjects were measured. On the 2nd day, the subjects were assigned to smoke either 1 light (0.6 mg of nicotine, 8 mg of tar, and 9 mg of carbon monoxide) or 1 regular cigarette (0.9 mg of nicotine, 12 mg of tar, and 12 mg of carbon monoxide) and the measurements were repeated for all subjects 20 minutes following smoking. After 15 days, the subjects were assigned to smoke 1 cigarette of the type that was not smoked on the 2nd day, and the same measurements were performed 20 minutes after smoking. Results In response to smoking 1 light cigarette, FMD values declined from 15.0 +/- 6.8% to 9.1 +/- 2.9% (P=0.002). After smoking 1 regular cigarette, FMD values declined from 15.0 +/- 6.8% to 9.4 +/- 4.8% (P=0.002). Aortic elasticity and left ventricular diastolic functions (LVDF) were significantly impaired by both types of cigarettes. Conclusion Smoking light cigarettes has similar acute detrimental effects on FMD, LVDF, ASI, AoD, and AoEM as regular cigarettes.