[Chronic cigarette smoke exposure results in cardiac remodeling and impaired ventricular function in rats].
OBJECTIVE
To determine the cardiac structural and functional alterations caused by cigarette smoke exposure in rats.


METHODS
The animals were randomly distributed into the following 2 groups: 1) smokers (S), comprising 10 animals exposed to cigarette smoke at a rate of 40 cigarettes/day; and 2) control (C), comprising 10 animals not exposed to cigarette smoke. After 4 months, the animals underwent morphological and functional study with echocardiography. The variables studied were analyzed by use of the t test or the Mann-Whitney test.


RESULTS
The smoking rats had a greater left atrium (S=4.2+/-0.7 mm; C=3.5+/-0.6 mm; P<0.05), and greater left ventricular diastolic (S=7.9+/-0.7 mm; C=7.2+/-0.5 mm; P<0.05) and systolic (S=4.1+/-0.5; C=3.4+/-0.5; P<0.05) diameters. The left ventricular mass index was greater in the smoking animals (S=1.5 mg/kg+/-0.2; C=1.3 mg/kg+/-0.2; P<0.05), and the ejection fraction (S=0.85+/-0.03; C=0.89+/-0.03; P<0.05) and the shortening fraction (S=47.8%+/-3.7; C=52.7%+/-4.6; P<0.05) were greater in the control group. No differences were observed in the diastolic transmitral flow variables (E wave, A wave, and E/A ratio).


CONCLUSIONS
Chronic cigarette smoke exposure results in cardiac remodeling with a decrease in ventricular functional capacity.
Castardeli
Edson
E
Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, UNESP, Botucatu, SP.
Paiva
Sergio A R
SA
Matsubara
Beatriz B
BB
Matsubara
Luiz S
LS
Minicucci
Marcos F
MF
Azevedo
Paula S
PS
Campana
Alvaro O
AO
Zornoff
Leonardo A M
LA
D000818:Animals; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution