the effect of nicotine gum on blood pressure and heart rate

abstract  introduction: smoking is an important risk factor of coronary artery disease. nicotine replacement therapy (nrt) for smoking cessation should be considered, especially in coronary patients. methods: twenty-four healthy smokers, smoking an average of 20 cigarettes a day for 15 years and with moderate cigarette dependence (according to the fagershtrum questionnaire score) were randomly assigned to 3 groups of 8 and followed up for 5 days. the first group consisted only of cigarette smokers. the smokers in the second group were given a piece of nicotine gum every two hours. the smokers in the third group were given a piece of non-nicotine gum (placebo) every 2 hours. the subjects' blood pressure and heart rate were checked 12 times during four daily intervals (between 7 am and 12 pm, 1 pm and 6 pm, 7 pm and 12 pm, 1 am and 6 am) and recorded in related forms. results: systolic pressure was not significantly different in the three groups, but diastolic blood pressure of cigarette smokers was evidently higher than that of subjects who used nicotine and non-nicotine (placebo) gums. discussion: heart rate in smokers was higher than in nicotine and placebo users (p<0.0001). it seems that nicotine gum does not act as a cardiovascular disease risk factor. hence in the context of smoking cessation efforts, its prescription to smokers with cardiovascular disease is recommended. keywords • risk factor • nico rest gum • smoking • systolic blood pressure • diastolic blood pressure • heart beat • cvd