The acute effects of cigarette smoking on left ventricular function.

Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor of coronary artery disease. Frequent repetition of an acute effect on the heart caused by cigarette smoking has been suggested as the etiology because of the increased incidence of myocardial infarction in cigarette smokers which drops to the incidence in non-smokers after cessation of smoking. This study of cardiac patients during cardiac catheterization evaluates the acute effect of the ordinary cigarette, smoked in the individuals own manner, on parameters of cardiac pump and muscle performance. The accuracy of measurements was enhanced by employing high-fidelity pressure signals, signal averaging, and computer analysis of the data. The results of the present study suggest that when cardiac patients smoke 1 cigarette of their own brand in their accustomed manner, no deleterious effects on pump performance, ventricular contraction or relaxation and blood pressure are evident.