A study of the short term effect of cigarette smoking on cardiopulmonary efficiency

Abstract

Background: All over the world, tobacco is taken in several forms. Use of tobacco in cigarettes indeed represents a health concern of growing magnitude among these groups. As a consequence of its addictive qualities, the consumption of cigarettes often becomes a lifelong habit with cumulative and deleterious effects on health. Smokeless tobacco has been advocated as a substitute for cigarette smoking. On the contrary, the use of smokeless tobacco is fraught with health risk and needs to be discouraged. Previous reports have described long-term harmful effects of nicotine on various body parameters, little is known about acute effect of cigarette smoking on cardiopulmonary parameters. Very few studies have been undertaken on the acute effect of use of cigarettes, a common form of tobacco use in India on cardiopulmonary parameters of youngsters. Materials and Methods: Treadmill exercise testing and pulmonary function tests were done before and after maximal exercise testing to assess cardiopulmonary efficiency in two groups' viz., healthy sedentary controls and healthy cigarette smokers. Results: On studying the differences in cardiopulmonary efficiency in the two groups the resting heart rate (HR) was found to be statistically significantly higher in the study group and the delta heart rate (δ HR) was found to be statistically significantly lower among cigarette smokers. There was no significant difference seen in parameters like VO 2 max, maximum oxygen pulse, maximal voluntary ventilation, VE max as an acute effect of cigarette smoking. Conclusion: In this study, it appears that cigarette smokers are physically fit like controls, but after immediate smoking a lesser δ HR suggests a higher risk for cardiovascular mortality. Stopping smoking at this juncture can be helpful in reverting back the risk and parameters such as resting HR, recovery HR, and δ HR can be used as prognostic assessment tools for any intervention therapy to stop cigarette smoking in asymptomatic individuals.