Oral vitamin C ameliorates smoking-induced arterial wall stiffness in healthy volunteers

We have investigated whether the oral administration of vitamin C could prevent smoking-induced acceleration of arterial stiffness in healthy volunteers. Subjects were pretreated with 2 g vitamin C and their heart rate (HR), mean blood pressure (MBP), and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were measured before and after smoking. Smoking significantly increased the HR, MBP, baPWV (13, 6.4, 7.0%). Vitamin C treatment significantly reduced the smoking-induced elevation in baPWV at 0 min (- 58.5%, p = 0.0002) without affecting HR or MBP. These findings suggest that oral vitamin C treatment prevents smoking-induced acceleration in arterial stiffness through reducing endothelial dysfunction.