Enhanced elevation of blood pressure during cigarette smoking in the elderly

Acute changes in blood pressure and heart rate during cigarette smoking were investigated in 10 elderly subjects aged 75.6 +/- 4.8 (mean +/- SD) years and in 10 non-elderly subjects aged 35.6 +/- 10.5 years. All subjects were healthy normotensive men with no cardiovascular disease. While each subject smoked two cigarettes containing 5.4 mg of nicotine, systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased significantly more in the elderly subjects (18.2 +/- 6.0/9.0 +/- 5.0 mmHg) than in the non-elderly subjects (4.8 +/- 4.7/3.9 +/- 4.2 mmHg, p < 0.05). However, the increases of heart rate in the two groups were similar (elderly: 10.5 +/- 4.1 beats/min versus non-elderly: 12.1 +/- 6.4 beats/min, ns). These results indicate that there is an age-related difference in blood pressure elevation during cigarette smoking in healthy subjects.