The effect of smoking on arterial stiffness

Abstract

A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library to determine the effect of acute, chronic and passive smoking on arterial stiffness and to determine whether these effects are reversible after smoking cessation. A total of 39 relevant studies were identified and included. Acute smoking was found to cause an acute increase in arterial stiffness. Similarly, passive smoking increased arterial stiffness acutely and chronically. The majority of studies identified chronic smoking as a risk factor for increasing arterial stiffness. However, some studies found no statistical difference in arterial stiffness between nonsmokers and long-term smokers, although chronic smoking seems to sensitize the arterial response to acute smoking. In addition, whether arterial stiffness is reversed after smoking cessation and the timeline in which this may occur could not be determined from the identified literature. The effect of smoking discontinuation on arterial stiffness remains to be established by prospective smoking cessation trials.

Acute cigarette smoking impairs microvascular function in young moderate smokers: A potential model for studying vasoactive properties of food bioactives

“…In contrast, from data previously reported [ 28 ], we observed a trend toward a decrease of dAix after smoking. However, because heart rate has been shown to be a possible confounder in the determination of dAix, no effect was observed after normalization for heart rate (dAix@75) [ 29 ].…”

Assessment of aortic stiffness by local and regional methods

“…26,27 Currently, the most popular method for evaluating arterial stiffness is obtained by estimating the pulse transit time between the carotid and femoral arteries using the tonometric technique. 8,19 This technique gives a reliable index of the regional AoStiff, 28,29 but represents only an estimate of the local AoStiff because it is a summation of the individual biomechanical properties of different arterial walls (that is, carotid, aorta, iliac and femoral arteries) located between the two recording sites. 30,31 Our data showed that IWV measurements are highly correlated with the carotid-femoral PWV, indicating that IWV also provides a reliable estimate of the regional AoStiff (see Figures 3 and 4).…”

Serum Osteoprotegerin is Associated with Arterial Stiffness Assessed According to the Cardio-ankle Vascular Index in Hypertensive Patients

“…The association between the CAVI and the progression of diabetes mellitus, another wellknown condition that contributes to vascular stiffness, has also been extensively studied 4,5) , and diabetes is an independent determinant of the CAVI values in hypertensive patients 16) . Smoking has been found to be a risk factor for increasing arterial stiffness 17) . One study noted that smoking causes a significant increase in arterial stiffness as measured by the CAVI and that the CAVI correlates with the Brinkman index, which suggests that the CAVI is a useful index of the degree of arterial stiffness caused by smoking 18) .…”