Cardiovascular reactivity and smoking in coronary prone (type A) and non-coronary prone (type B) subjects

Twenty-nine Type A subjects, (greater than 75 percentile on the Jenkins Activity Survey) and 28 Type B's (less than 25 percentile of Jenkins) were asked to smoke 1 cigarette (1.0 mg nicotine, 16 mg tar, 14 mg CO) using a standardized smoking procedure. The results showed that both Type A and B subjects experienced significant smoking induced changes in heart rate, skin temperature and pulse transit time. An analysis of covariance also revealed that the Type A subjects exhibited greater heart rate reactivity due to smoking than their type B counter parts. The results are discussed in terms of the possible role of cardiovascular reactivity in the mediation of the subjective and behavioral effects of smoking in the type A individual.