The effects of acute smoking on platelet behaviour, fibrinolysis and haemorheology in habitual smokers.

There is an increased frequency of arterial thrombosis in cigarette smokers. The changes in blood coagulation seen in these subjects have been studied by many workers but results have not always been in agreement. We wished to study the effects of acute .smoking on platelet behaviour, fibrinolysis and haemorheology in ten habitual smokers, and to compare these results with nonsmoking controls. Results show that the smoking group had higher plasma fibrinogen (p 0.02). We confirm an increased tendency to hypercoagulability in smokers compared to controls which becomes more pronounced immediately after smoking three cigarettes.