nicotine and stroke rehab part 2

I originally posted a favorable view of nicotine here: http://oc1dean.blogspot.com/2010/10/nicotine-and-stroke-rehab.html

The latest shows a hardening of the arteries.
http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?type=article&article_id=218393007
More than Addiction
It's well known that smoking cigarettes is bad for health. But exactly how each component of tobacco smoke contributes to illness is still being researched. Nicotine, for instance, is known as the drug in cigarettes that addicts people. But new research by molecular biologist Daniel Catanzaro of Weill Cornell Medical College finds evidence that nicotine, itself, causes circulatory problems.
"There is a very strong potential to accelerate the development of hardening of the arteries which can lead to cardiovascular disease including heart attacks," says Catanzaro, a research associate professor of physiology and biophysics in medicine.

So this was smoke-based, would a nicotine pill be better and not have these side effects?
A perfect question for your doctors, is nicotine more likely to help you recover or cause another stroke or heart attack?   If they don't know the answer ask when their clinical trials start. Every stroke doctor should be perforning trials, start nagging them.