Changes in cardio-ankle vascular index in smoking cessation.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of smoking and smoking cessation on cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI).


METHODS
The subjects were 82 smokers (77 men, 64+/-10 years) and 20 non-smokers (18 men, 61+/-7 years). CAVI was measured every 3 months and CAVI severity was classified into 3 levels. Decreased, unchanged, and increased CAVI severity levels were coded as "improvement," "no change," and "exacerbation," respectively. Smoking status was coded as "success" for complete abstinence, "partial success" for a reduced number of cigarettes, and "failure" for an unchanging number of cigarettes.


RESULTS
Compared with non-smokers, smokers showed a higher CAVI (p<0.05) prior to smoking cessation. Post-cessation, CAVI improved from 9.4 to 8.6 (p<0.01) in "success" cases (n=22), and the significant pre-cessation difference from non-smokers (n=20, CAVI=8.8) disappeared. With regard to the change in CAVI severity of each smoking status, "improvement" occurred in 17%, 24%, and 68% of "failure" (n=35), "partial success" (n=25), and "success" (n=22) groups, respectively, and the "success" group was significantly higher than the other two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The study showed that CAVI was increased by smoking, and complete smoking cessation improved CAVI.
Noike
Hirofumi
H
Department of Cardiovascular Center, Sakura Medical Center, School of Medicine, Toho University, 561-4 Shimoshizu, Sakura City, Chiba, Japan. hfnoike@sakura.med.toho-u.ac.jp
Nakamura
Keijirou
K
Sugiyama
Yuukou
Y
Iizuka
Takuo
T
Shimizu
Kazuhiro
K
Takahashi
Mao
M
Hirano
Keiichi
K
Suzuki
Masayo
M
Mikamo
Hiroshi
H
Nakagami
Takahiro
T
Shirai
Kohji
K
D000368:Aged; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000098:blood supply*; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking; D016540:Smoking Cessation