Abstract

FADRAGAS FERNANDEZ, Alejandro; CABRERA CAO, Yanet  and  SANZ DELGADO, Licett. Smoking: Repercussion on the cardiovascular system. Rev Cubana Med Gen Integr [online]. 2005, vol.21, n.3-4. ISSN 0864-2125.

Summary We propose ourselves to review the most updated literature to make known the magnitude of this harmful habit, alarmed by the terrible reality to know that tobbaco causes a death per 10 s, according to a report recently published by the World Health Organization. Smoking produces 3 500 000 deaths a year and brings about cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The purpose of this bibliographic review is to update this topic, making emphasis on the repercussion of smoking on the cardiovascular system. As a result of this review, we found that smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, where the atherosclerotic lesions are present in an elevated percentage of the patients dying for this cause, and that it is at the same time an important factor in the appearance of other diseases, such as arterial hypertension, ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases.

Keywords : Smoking; hypertension; atherosclerosis.