title: The aortic mechanical properties in patients with the essential hypertension environmentally exposed to cigaret smoke.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The impairment of the aortic mechanical features constitutes the independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present research has been the determination of the influence of the environmental exposure to cigaret smoke on the aortic mechanical properties, namely, the stiffness and elasticity of aorta, in patients with essential hypertension.
  
  
  METHODS
  The research has covered 128 people with essential hypertension: 64 nonsmokers, declaring the environmental exposure to cigaret smoke (group A) and 64 nonsmokers declaring the lack of environmental exposure to cigaret smoke selected on the case to case basis (group B). Aortic mechanical properties have been evaluated on the basis of the parameters: aortic stiffness index (AoSI), aortic strain (AoS) and aortic distensibility (AoD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In group A, the average values of AoSI were significantly higher, and the average values of AoS and AoD significantly lower than in group B. It has been documented that the older age and environmental exposure to cigaret smoke form independent risk factors of increasing the aortic stiffness expressed by higher values of AoSI, whereas the older age, higher pulse pressure (PP) values and environmental exposure to cigaret smoke - independent risk factors of aortic elasticity reduction expressed for the age and "passive smoking" by lower values of AoS and AoD and for PP - lower values of AoD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with essential hypertension, the environmental exposure to cigaret smoke seems to result in impairment of the aortic mechanical properties.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Internal Medicine , Occupational Diseases and Hypertension, Wroclaw Medical University , Wroclaw , PL , Poland .|b Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging , 4th Military Hospital , Wroclaw , PL , Poland , and.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gać
authors.affiliation: c Department of Pathophysiology , Wroclaw Medical University , Wroclaw , PL , Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poręba
authors.affiliation: a Department of Internal Medicine , Occupational Diseases and Hypertension, Wroclaw Medical University , Wroclaw , PL , Poland .
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazur
authors.affiliation: a Department of Internal Medicine , Occupational Diseases and Hypertension, Wroclaw Medical University , Wroclaw , PL , Poland .
authors.forename: Rafał
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poręba
mesh_terms: D001011:Aorta / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004452:Echocardiography; D004548:Elasticity; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000075222:Essential Hypertension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D059289:Vascular Stiffness
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
keywords: Aortic elasticity; aortic stiffness; cigaret smoke; environmental exposure; essential hypertension