Acute Maximal Exercise and the Vasodilatory Capacity of Young Cigarette Smokers

Abstract

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this study was to compare the vasodilatory response to reactive hyperemia (RH) at rest and following maximal exercise in otherwise healthy cigarette smokers and healthy non-smokers. In addition we examined the vasodilatory response to RH of cigarette smokers following acute exposure to cigarette smoke both at rest and following maximal exercise. METHODS: The vasodilatory capacity of 19 cigarette smokers (CS) (23 ± 2 years) and 19 non-smokers (NS) (23 ± 3 years) was assessed using strain-gauge plethysmography on the forearm following RH before and after a maximal treadmill test. Peak forearm blood flow (FBF) and area under the curve (AUC) of the FBF response at rest and following exercise were compared between CS and NS using repeated measures ANOVA. On a separate visit, cigarette smokers were asked to smoke one cigarette twenty minutes prior to testing in order to examine the effects of acute smoking (AS) compared to non-acute smoking (NAS). RESULTS: At rest, the CS group demonstrated a 23% reduction in peak FBF response to RH compared to the NS group (15.8 ± 2.9 CS vs. 20.6 ± 5.5 NS mL/min/100mL, p < 0.05) and a 22% reduction in AUC of the FBF response to RH (607 ± 225 CS vs. 775 ± 233 NS mL/min/100mL x min, p = 0.058). The CS group also had a 26% reduction in AUC of the FBF response to RH on the AS visit compared to the NAS visit (449 ± 147 AS vs. 607 ± 225 NAS mL/min/100mL x min, p < 0.05). However, following maximal exercise, no significant differences in peak or AUC of the FBF response were found between the CS and NS groups. Also, no differences were observed following maximal exercise between visits (AS vs. NAS) in the CS group. CONCLUSION: These findings support the beneficial effect of exercise on the vasodilatory response of young healthy cigarette smokers, as acute maximal exercise resulted in a similar FBF response to RH in the CS and NS groups, despite the fact that the CS group exhibited an impaired FBF response to RH prior to exercise.