Aim: 

to evaluate the alterations of the skin microvascular reactivity and haemodynamic measurements due to the acute cigarette smoking (CS) in 20 healthy normotensive habitual smokers.

Methods: 

We investigated 10 young smokers (YS; 26 ±6 y.o.) and 10 adult smokers (AS; 44 ±6 y.o.). with smoking status of 8.4± 4 and 15.7±7 pack-years, respectively. We used laser Doppler imaging technique to measure the cutaneous blood flow on the dorsum of the palm. The vasodilatory response to the iontophoretic administration of 1% acetylcholine (ACh), acting via an endothelial mechanism, and the local heating +44°C application, acting via an axon reflex-mediated and endothelium-dependent vasodilatation were studied before and after CS. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were measured before and after CS.

Results: 

The acute CS significantly decreased endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in response to Ach (p< 0.05) in both YS and AS groups. The vasodilatory response to the local heating was slightly increased in neurally regulated vasodilatation and obviously tended to decreased in endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in both groups. There were significantly increased systolic (p< 0.05) and diastolic (p< 0.05) blood pressure and heart rate (p< 0.05) in YS group. AS group showed significantly increased systolic blood pressure (p< 0.05). We found endothelium-dependent vasodilatation significantly correlated with pack-years (p< 0.05; r=0.52) and age (p< 0.05; r=-0.50).

Conclusion: 

The data show that cigarette smoking and age results in attenuated endothelial function in peripheral microcirculation. As well, the acute cigarette smoking contributes also to elevated sympathetic cardiovascular activity in healthy men.