Circulatory and ventilatory effects of exercise in smokers and nonsmokers

¹ Krannert Heart Research Institute, Marion County General Hospital, and Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana

To evaluate the effects of cigarette smoking on some of the circulatory and ventilatory responses to exercise, a group of young male subjects, 18 smokers and 14 nonsmokers, was studied. Exercise consisted of a standard 5-min bicycle ergometer test that achieved a mean O₂ uptake of 1.44 liters/ min in the 5th min of exercise. There was no difference between smokers and nonsmokers in the O₂ uptake achieved during subsequent maximal exercise. Pulmonary function studies performed on the two groups revealed normal results for each group. There was an oxygen debt accumulation among smokers that was significantly greater (P < 0.001) and this debt represented a greater per cent of the total O₂ uptake. The heart rate at rest and 3 min after exercise in smokers was significantly faster (P < 0.02). These differences do not appear to be related to ventilatory factors and may, therefore, be due to either circulatory or metabolic differences in the two groups.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. E. Marino, M. I. Lambert, and T. D. Noakes Superior performance of African runners in warm humid but not in cool environmental conditions J Appl Physiol, January 1, 2004; 96(1): 124 - 130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Ayres, S. Giannelli Jr., and R. G. Armstrong Carboxyhemoglobin: Hemodynamic and Respiratory Responses to Small Concentrations Science, July 9, 1965; 149(3680): 193 - 194. [Abstract] [PDF]