title: Mentholated cigarette smoking and brachial artery, carotid artery, and aortic vascular function.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated possible acute effects of mentholated versus nonmentholated cigarette smoking on vascular functions and left ventricular diastolic functions in otherwise healthy young smokers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 20 otherwise healthy smokers (6 women, 14 men; mean age 25.6 years) and 22 healthy nonsmokers (12 women, 10 men; mean age 25.1 years). Ultrasound and echocardiographic examinations were performed to determine baseline characteristics for the brachial artery, aorta, and carotid artery, including brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD), aortic and carotid stiffness index (SI), distensibility, and elastic modulus (EM). On day 2, each subject smoked either two mentholated or nonmentholated cigarettes and ultrasound and echocardiographic examinations were repeated. The procedure was repeated 15 days later with each subject smoking the other type of cigarette.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From the baseline level of 14.0+/-9.0%, FMD decreased significantly to 8.3+/-3.2% (p=0.012) and to 9.8+/-5.5% (p=0.025) after smoking mentholated and nonmentholated cigarettes, respectively. Increase in systolic blood pressure was significant only with mentholated cigarettes (p=0.003). Increases in heart rate and rate-pressure product were significant in both groups, being more prominent with mentholated cigarettes. Both types of cigarettes resulted in significant prolongation of mitral E deceleration time and decrease in mitral E/A ratio. Changes in aortic SI and EM were significant only with mentholated cigarettes, while changes in carotid SI and EM were significant in both groups. Menthol-associated changes in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, rate-pressure product, carotid strain, and carotid SI parameters differed significantly from those seen after nonmentholated cigarette smoking (p=0.027, p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.037, and p<0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings show that mentholated cigarettes are not safer than nonmentholated cigarettes and that menthol-associated acute impairment is more severe in many parameters of elasticity and stiffness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Medicine Faculty of Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey. ozgurciftci@baskent-kon.edu.tr
authors.forename: Ozgür
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ciftçi
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Güllü
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calişkan
authors.forename: Semra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Topçu
authors.forename: Doğan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Erdoğan
authors.forename: Aylin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yildirir
authors.forename: Erkan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.forename: Haldun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Müderrisoğlu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008610:Menthol; D012907:Smoking; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008610:Menthol; D002097:C-Reactive Protein