Smoking and atherosclerosis: mechanisms of disease and new therapeutic approaches.
2014
It has been clear that at least 1 billion adults worldwide are smokers and at least 700 million children are passive
smokers at home. Smoking exerts a detrimental effect to many organ systems and is responsible for illnesses such as
lung cancer, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer of head and neck, cancer of the urinary and gastrointestinal
tract, periodontal disease, cataract and arthritis. Additionally, smoking is an important modifiable risk factor
for the development of cardiovascular disease such as coronary artery disease, stable angina, acute coronary syndromes,
sudden death, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, congestive heart failure, erectile dysfunction and aortic aneurysms via
initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. A variety of studies has proved that cigarette smoking induces oxidative
stress, vascular inflammation, platelet coagulation, vascular dysfunction and impairs serum lipid pro-file in both current
and chronic smokers, active and passive smokers and results in detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system. The aim
of this review is to depict the physical and biochemical properties of cigarette smoke and, furthermore, elucidate the main
pathophysiological mechanisms of cigarette-induced atherosclerosis and overview the new therapeutic approaches for
smoking cessation and augmentation of cardiovascular health.
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