Effect of smoking cessation upon circulatory responses to reactive hyperemia and cold pressor stress

Local and sympathetic nervous system stress tests were administered prior to and following a 5-d smoking cessation program to determine the effects of short term smoking cessation upon peripheral circulation. Reactive hyperemia (RH) tests were performed on the forearm as a local dilatory stressor. Finger blood flow responses to cold pressor (CP) stresses were used to access stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Measures of heart rate and total forearm or finger blood flow, pulse volume and rate of blood delivery were obtained continuously during each stress test. Smoking cessation produced a significant decrease (0.01 < p < 0.05) in heart rate during both the RH and CP test sequences. Grouped mean peak forearm blood flow (Mean difference = 2.11 ml.100 ml-1.min-1; p < 0.05) and pulse volume (Mean difference = 0.04 ml.100 ml-1.pulse-1; p < 0.01) were both significantly greater following occlusion during the post-cessation RH tests than during the similar test before smoking cessation. Both finger pulse volume and rate of blood delivery were significantly greater (0.01 < p < 0.05) during the recovery portion of the post-cessation CP tests than during the same period of the pre-cessation tests. Thus, smoking cessation significantly altered both the locally mediated and central nervous system controlled responses to externally applied stressors.