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(Circulation. 1973;48:619.)
© 1973 American Heart Association, Inc.

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An Acute Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Platelet Function

A Possible Link Between Smoking and Arterial Thrombosis

PETER H. LEVINE M.D.¹

¹ From the Blood Coagulation Laboratory of the New England Medical Center Hospital, and the Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.

In a controlled, double blind study, the smoking of a single cigarette has been shown to increase the platelet's response to a standard aggregating stimulus. This phenomenon appears to be specifically related to the inhaling of tobacco smoke; it does not follow the smoking of lettuce leaf filled cigarettes. The platelet effect seems independent of the rise in plasma free fatty acids which follows cigarette smoking. Smoking-induced potentiation of platelet aggregation may help to explain the increased incidence of arterial thrombi and/or atheromatous plaques in cigarette smokers.

Key Words: Free fatty acids • Platelet aggregation

Submitted on March 5, 1973
Accepted on May 4, 1973

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