Applicability of vascular ultrasound in smoking patients

Introduction: Smoking represents one of the main preventable cardiovascular risk factors. The presence of atheromatous plaques reflects an initial stage of cardiovascular disease. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the existence of early atherosclerosis in individuals exposed to tobacco. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, observational clinical study was conducted in which patients who attended the general pulmonology clinic of La Princesa University (Madrid) hospital were included. A bilateral vascular ultrasound of the carotid and femoral arteries was performed within the protocol of the study. Demographic data such as age, sex, smoking pack-year, FEV1 and other previous cardiovascular comorbidities was collected. The patients were divided into three groups; non-smokers, active smokers, and former smokers. Results: A total of 223 patients were included in the study, 56% of which were male. The results are shown in Table 1. Conclusions: –Patients having smoked, both actively and previously, have a higher incidence of atheromatous plaques in the femorals and left carotid arteries, therefore it would be recommendable to perform vascular ultrasound scans in smoking patients with smoking accumulative habit higher than 30 pack-year. –Tobacco remains one of the main causes of subclinical atherosclerosis increasing therisk of cardiovascular events.