Effects of Hypoxia and of Carbon Monoxide Exposures on Experimental Atherosclerosis

Excerpt

For many years nicotine has been the focus of attention in discussions of the relation between tobacco smoking and development of arteriosclerosis, whereas carbon monoxide in the tobacco smoke has not been considered of pathogenetic importance. In animal experiments, nicotine has no atherogenic effect, yet exceptionally high concentrations of carboxyhemoglobin—for example, from 10 to 15%—have been found in smokers with early peripheral or coronary arteriosclerosis (1-3). The significance of this finding has been stressed by the enhancement of atheromatosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits exposed for 8 to 10 weeks to enough carbon monoxide to lead to a carboxyhemoglobin concentration of 15%