The effect of six weeks of breathing exercise training on carboxyhemoglobin, lactate, platelet count and mean platelet volume and some hemodynamic variable in men smokers

Smoking leads to disease, disability and premature death. This research aims to investigate the effect of six weeks of breathing exercise on carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet count (PLT), lactate and oxygen saturation level (SpO2), and some hemodynamic indices such as heart rate, blood pressure and VO2max of smokers. In this quasi-experimental research, 20 male smokers were selected by targeted sampling and randomly divided into two exercise (n=10) and control (n=10) groups. Breathing exercise was done twice a day for six weeks, 5 sessions per week. For statistical analysis of data, ANCOVA test was used to examine the between groups differences (P<0.05). The results showed that 6 weeks of breathing exercise intervention significantly reduced COHb (P=0.001), MPV (P=0.001), PLT (P=0.001), systolic (P=0.008) and diastolic (P=0.03) blood pressure and heart rate (P=0.001) and a significant increase in SpO2 (P=0.001) in the training group compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in body mass index, maximum oxygen consumption and blood lactate level between the two groups (P<0.05). According to the results, performing breathing exercises by smokers can be useful in maintaining and improving their health and reducing the side effects caused by smoking.