CLINICAL CASE OF GAISBÖCK SYNDROME CAUSED BY HOOKAH AND TOBACCO SMOKING: “ZEBRA” OR “HORSE”?

Abstract

The role of smoking, in particular hookah smoking, in the development of hypoxia and, as its consequence, – polycythemia with subsequent development of hypertension is often underestimated; modification of this risk factor can lead to the normalization of blood pressure, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, as well as red blood cell count. A case of a 31 years old man, Caucasian, applied to the General Therapeutic Clinic of the National Military Medical Clinical Center “Main Military Clinical Center” (Kyiv, Ukraine), with hypertension and secondary polycythemia associated with cigarette and hookah smoking is presented.