Smoking individuals can significantly reduce their likelihood of experiencing a heart attack by nearly half.
Individuals diagnosed with chronic coronary heart disease who decide to quit smoking have a promising outlook. They significantly decrease their risk of heart attacks or strokes if they successfully give up cigarettes.
It's no secret that smoking is detrimental to one's health and can lead to deadly conditions such as cancer, strokes, and heart attacks. Despite this knowledge, many individuals continue to smoke as it's a challenging habit to break.
Research indicates that quitting smoking, even after being diagnosed with chronic coronary heart disease, is still beneficial and significantly reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attacks. "Chronic coronary heart disease occurs when the coronary arteries become narrow due to the accumulation of calcium deposits," explains Ulrich Laufs, a scientific advisor to the German Heart Foundation and director of cardiology at Leipzig University Hospital. When this condition is described as "stable," it means that no life-threatening cardiovascular events have been triggered by the blockage of blood vessels, such as heart attacks or strokes.
The risk of such severe events decreased by nearly half (44%) within a five-year period among participants who quit smoking after their diagnosis. In contrast, individuals who reduced their smoking intensity showed no significant difference in risk compared to those who continued smoking at the same level.
Importance of the first year
The first year following diagnosis is critical, according to study author Jules Mesnier from Hospital Bichat-Claude Bernard in Paris. Seventy-three percent of those who quit smoking during this period managed to stay smoke-free and dramatically reduced their risk of heart attacks and other serious cardiovascular events. Over three-quarters of smokers who successfully quit in the first year do so, as it logically follows that a life-threatening diagnosis increases the motivation to quit smoking, says cardiologist Harm Wienbergen from Bremen Klinikum Links der Weser.
Patients need support during this challenging time, particularly at the time of diagnosis, to aid in their smoke-free journey. Telling them that they can halve their risk of a "serious event or death" is a powerful message, emphasizes Mesnier.
Dementia risk can also be reduced
Despite former smokers reducing their risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular events quickly compared to active smokers, they did not reach the risk level of non-smokers even years later, according to the study.
However, the risk of serious events increased by an average of 8% each year for those who continued to smoke. "A heart attack can lead to long-term heart weakness and valve defects as the heart's overall function is damaged," says Wienbergen.
Those who quit smoking, or never start, not only help their hearts but also lower their risks of conditions such as dementia and diabetes.
Creating a smoke-free environment
To encourage smokers, regardless of their heart condition, to quit, Laufs recommends establishing a smoke-free environment. "The likelihood of someone successfully quitting smoking is linked to whether or not smoking is present in their surroundings," he states. For some patients, medication support or nicotine replacement therapy may also be helpful. "I always tell my patients that it's never too early or too late to quit smoking," emphasizes Mesnier. "But the sooner a patient stops, the better it is for their cardiovascular risk."
The study, presented at the end of August at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) annual congress in London, analyzed data from 32,378 patients who, on average, were diagnosed 6.5 years prior to being admitted due to chronic coronary heart disease. Of these patients, around 13,400 had never smoked, nearly 15,000 were former smokers, and approximately 4,000 continued to smoke.
After being diagnosed with chronic coronary heart disease, quitting smoking significantly reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes. Individuals who successfully quit smoking during the critical first year following diagnosis are more likely to stay smoke-free, reducing their risk of heart attacks and other serious cardiovascular events by nearly half.
