Smoking, carbon monoxide, and atherosclerotic diseases.

Smoking habits and random measurements of the proportion of haemoglobin bound to carbon monoxide (COHb%) were examined for their association with atherosclerotic diseases in 1068 men aged 55 to 74 years from rural areas of Finland. COHb% and smoking history were similarly associated with claudication and coronary heart disease. Random measurements of COHb% did not show a better overall relation to the prevalence of atherosclerotic diseases than smoking history, though COHb% showed a stronger association with a probable previous myocardial infarction. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of carbon monoxide in atherosclerosis.