Smoking stiffens arteries, damage irreversible

The study presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009 in Edmonton, Alberta, suggests that even few puffs could impair the blood vessel function of even the healthy adults.

Smoking stiffens the arteries, meaning the heart has to work harder, thereby increasing the probability of a heart attack or stroke, say health experts.

"Our results are significant because they suggest that smoking just a few cigarettes a day impacts the health of the arteries. This was revealed very clearly when these young people were placed under physical stress, such as exercise," said Dr. Stella Daskalopoulou, an internal medicine and vascular medicine specialist at McGill University Health Center in Montreal.

Smokers and non-smokers compared
For the purpose of the study, Daskalopoulou and her colleagues compared the arterial stiffiness of 10 smokers who puffed 5-6 cigarettes each day with 10 non-smokers, aged 18-30, at rest and at exercise.

The smokers were asked to refrain from puffing a cigarette 12 hours prior to the exercise test. After the first test, they were asked to complete two more tests along with the non-smokers.

For the second test, they were allowed to have one cigarette and then repeat their exercise. For the final test, they were asked to chew a nicotine gum prior to the physical activity.

Arterial stiffiness found to have increased in smokers
No major differences in the arterial stiffiness of both the smokers and the non-smokers at rest were noted.

However, when the two groups underwent physical activity, arterial stiffiness in the non-smokers dropped by 3.6 percent while the rate went up by 2.2 percent among the smokers.

When the smokers chewed nicotine gum, their arterial stiffiness dramatically shot up to 12.5 percent, and 24.5 percent after they had one cigarette.

"In effect, this means that even light smoking in otherwise young healthy people can damage the arteries, compromising the ability of their bodies to cope with physical stress, such as climbing a set of stairs or running to catch a bus.

"It seems that this compromise to respond to physical stress occurs first, before the damage of the arteries becomes evident at rest," Daskalopoulou concluded.