Cigarette Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease: Lessons from Framingham

This article summarizes the research by Filion and Luepker (2013) on the relationship between cigarette smoking and cardiovascular disease. It highlights the detrimental effects of smoking on the cardiovascular system and emphasizes the need for smoking cessation. The research findings suggest that smoking is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular disease. Screening of patient smoking habits should be included in public health assessments, and awareness campaigns should focus on the beneficial effects of smoking cessation on the cardiovascular system.

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ARTICLE SUMMARY
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Question 1
While the pulmonary carcinogenic effects of cigarette smoking have been well
established, recent research on the detrimental effects of smoking highlight the disruptive effects
of the same with regards to the health of the cardiovascular system. Hence, obtaining
information on the health consequences associated with smoking, to be further utilized in the
conductance of heath promotion and education activities to enlighten citizens on the harmful
health effects of the same, outline the primary reasons for choosing the research by Filion and
Luepker (2013). Additionally this research was selected with the purpose of enlightening the self
as well as others on the implications of smoking and the need for imposing corrective habits of
prevention and quitting.
Question 2
The research performed by Filion and Luepker (2013), aimed to establish the
relationships between smoking of cigarettes and occurrences of cardiovascular disease
conditions, while taking insights from the Framingham cohort study. Despite the established
relationships between smoking and incidences of lung cancer, the presence of associations
between smoking and diseases of the cardiovascular system continued to remain controversial,
followed a lack of association obtained during the early phases of the Framingham study.
However, the authors noted the presence of an association between cigarette smoking as a
predictive factor myocardial infarction, cardiovascular disease and the resultant mortality, upon
researching studies conducted by the Framingham study and cohort study at Albany, New York.
Further researches, evaluated in the study by Filion and Luepker (2013), indicated the need for

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smoking assessment due to smoking being an independent risk factor of cardiovascular diseases,
similar to hypertension or cholesterol, along with noting the restoration of a cardiovascular
system similar to healthy subjects upon smoking cessation.
Question 3
Hence, from this article, it can be learned that cigarette smoking results in harmful health
consequences, beyond merely the occurrences of lung cancer. Upon extensively analyzing the
results obtained from the 1962 Framingham study and Albany male cohort researches, it can be
extensively learned that cigarette smoking has been associated with an increased risk of
myocardial infarction and associated cardiovascular disease, and hence, screening of patient
smoking habits must be included in public health assessments. Likewise, the article presented
key learning on the inflammatory and thrombosis effects of smoking coupled with aggravations
in blood pressure exerted by the nicotine, the bioactive compound in tobacco. Hence, from the
research by Filion and Luepker (2013), we can learn that public health awareness concerning
smoking cessation must also include the beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system.
Question 4
The chronic disease continuum identified in the research by Filion and Luepker (2013)
include:
 Causal Associations: The causal association between smoking and cardiovascular
diseases has been identified to be administered by nicotine - the bioactive compound
prevalent in tobacco. Nicotine exerts detrimental cardiovascular effects by stimulating the
sympathetic nervous system, resulting in hypertension, arrhythmia and increased cardiac

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output. Nicotine may also exert long term consequences in the form of atherosclerosis
and thrombosis.
 High risk Populations: Individuals engaged in high dosages or chronic cigarette smoking
as well as post menopausal women, due to smoking and estrogen replacement therapy
interactions, have been identified as high risk groups.
 Controls: Increased awareness on harmful effects of smoking resulting in public health
campaigns, advertisements, health promotion policy frameworks and lawsuits against
tobacco manufacturers may result in decreased tobacco smoking.
 Consequences: If not controlled, cigarette smoking can result in hypertension,
atherosclerosis, increased inflammation and oxidative stress in the cardiovascular system,
and myocardial infarction. Likewise, smoking cessation results in positive health
consequences in the form of acquisition of a healthy cardiovascular system.

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References
Filion, K. B., & Luepker, R. V. (2013). Cigarette smoking and cardiovascular disease: lessons
from Framingham. Global Heart, 8(1), 35-41.