A study carried out as part of the large international registry of patients with coronary heart disease CLARIFY*, and which has just been presented at the European Congress of Cardiology (London), reveals that smokers who stop smoking after the diagnosis of coronary heart disease ( once this stabilized) significantly improved their cardiovascular results, regardless of when they stopped.
The reduction obtained is -44% in the risk of major cardiovascular events, including death or myocardial infarction, over a five-year follow-up period.
For clarification, coronary artery disease affects the coronary arteries, responsible for blood supply to the heart. It is mainly caused by atherosclerosis, which corresponds to an accumulation of plaques made up partly of fat inside the artery walls. This process gradually narrows the diameter of the arteries, thereby slowing blood flow.
On the other hand, in the study, among smokers who only reduced their consumption, the risk of major cardiovascular events was not modified compared to smokers who did not change their habits.
As for continued smoking after diagnosis of coronary heart disease, it unsurprisingly increases the risk of major cardiovascular events, by 8% for each additional year of active smoking.
The year following diagnosis, decisive in deciding to quit smoking
According to the French researchers who conducted the analysis, the best time to quit smoking is the year following diagnosis. “ The first year after diagnosis represents the crucial window to quit”estimates Dr Jules Mesnier of Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital (Paris).
Another finding from the study was expected: although smokers who quit quickly benefited from a reduced risk of cardiovascular events adults compared to smokers, they never reached the level of cardiovascular risk of patients who had never smoked, even after years of stopping smoking.
Dr Mesnier adds: « j’likes to tell my patients that it is never too early or too late to quit smoking, but the sooner they quit, the better for reducing cardiovascular risk. Telling smokers that they can cut their risk of having a major event or dying in half, as we have shown here, is a powerful message. And it is not enough to reduce consumption ! »
Measures to promote stopping smoking include advice, behavioral interventions as well as pharmacological treatment, or even the – temporary – use of electronic cigarettes.
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