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Smoking is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular events. The mechanisms by which this risk is mediated are not fully understood, but they include endothelial dysfunction, increased platelet aggregability, and heightened inflammation and oxidative stress. In this study, researchers gave intracoronary acetylcholine to 881 patients (115 of whom were current smokers) with chest pain but without substantial obstructive coronary lesions (defined as ≥30% obstruction).
The patients who smoked had more epicardial vasoconstriction and endothelial dysfunction than the nonsmokers, but the smokers’ microvascular endothelial function was intact. A number of biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress were measured: The smokers had higher w…