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Cardiology Cardiac function impaired among smokers, even when they're young and fit
Cardiology Cardiac function impaired among smokers, even when they're young and fit
Cardiac function impaired among smokers, even when they're young and fit
Monday, 29 November 1999 19:00 | 
| Specialties - Cardiology |
Not even young, otherwise healthy adults are immune to adverse consequences associated with smoking cigarettes, a research team in Poland reports.
Not even young, otherwise healthy adults are immune to adverse consequences associated with smoking cigarettes, a research team in Poland reports. Chronic nicotine exposure appears to cause subclinical left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, and even after subjects smoked one cigarette, the investigators observed right ventricular relaxation impairment as well.
There is little information regarding the effects of smoking on cardiac function in young adults, Dr. Barbara Lichodziejewska and associates at Warsaw Medical University note in their paper, published in the April issue of Chest.
Their goal was to use echocardiography to determine multiple measures of left and right ventricular diastolic function, and to see if smoking caused functional impairment among 66 healthy, slender adults, aged 20 to 40 years. Thirty three had smoked 10-25 cigarettes per day for 6-20 years. Among the smoking group, echocardiography was performed after a 2-hour non-smoking period, then repeated immediately after smoking.
Their results showed multiple abnormalities among smokers, including changes in mitral valve flow and pulmonary venous flow, indicating impairment of left ventricular relaxation, Dr. Lichodziejewska and colleagues indicate.
The authors caution that, even though mitral valve flow was significantly lower among smokers, it tended to remain within normal ranges, and that increases following smoking could be caused by heart rate acceleration.
In contrast, "the assessment of pulmonary venous flow, independent of the heart rate and reflecting left atrial pressure, relaxation, and compliance, gave us more precise information," they write.
Thus, parameters of pulmonary venous flow appear to be more sensitive markers for detecting early, subclinical left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, even when mitral valve flow appears to be normal and signs or symptoms of heart disease have yet to appear.
Dr. Lichodziejewska's team also observed that late-phase tricuspid valve inflow was highest immediately after smoking, less after 2 hours of abstinence, and lowest among nonsmokers, suggesting impairment of right ventricular diastolic function after smoking a cigarette.
These changes are significant, the authors suggest, because "impairment of ventricular relaxation, the early phase of ventricular diastole, is the first stage of diastolic dysfunction."
Chest 2007;131:1142-1148.
There is little information regarding the effects of smoking on cardiac function in young adults, Dr. Barbara Lichodziejewska and associates at Warsaw Medical University note in their paper, published in the April issue of Chest.
Their goal was to use echocardiography to determine multiple measures of left and right ventricular diastolic function, and to see if smoking caused functional impairment among 66 healthy, slender adults, aged 20 to 40 years. Thirty three had smoked 10-25 cigarettes per day for 6-20 years. Among the smoking group, echocardiography was performed after a 2-hour non-smoking period, then repeated immediately after smoking.
Their results showed multiple abnormalities among smokers, including changes in mitral valve flow and pulmonary venous flow, indicating impairment of left ventricular relaxation, Dr. Lichodziejewska and colleagues indicate.
The authors caution that, even though mitral valve flow was significantly lower among smokers, it tended to remain within normal ranges, and that increases following smoking could be caused by heart rate acceleration.
In contrast, "the assessment of pulmonary venous flow, independent of the heart rate and reflecting left atrial pressure, relaxation, and compliance, gave us more precise information," they write.
Thus, parameters of pulmonary venous flow appear to be more sensitive markers for detecting early, subclinical left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, even when mitral valve flow appears to be normal and signs or symptoms of heart disease have yet to appear.
Dr. Lichodziejewska's team also observed that late-phase tricuspid valve inflow was highest immediately after smoking, less after 2 hours of abstinence, and lowest among nonsmokers, suggesting impairment of right ventricular diastolic function after smoking a cigarette.
These changes are significant, the authors suggest, because "impairment of ventricular relaxation, the early phase of ventricular diastole, is the first stage of diastolic dysfunction."
Chest 2007;131:1142-1148.
