Smoking cessation adds five healthy years to life of patients with heart disease: ESC

Sophia Antipolis: Smokers with heart disease could gain five healthy years by quitting, finds a new study. Further smoking cessation adds the same number of heart disease-free years to life as three preventive medications combined.

The research was presented at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2022, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

"The benefits of smoking cessation are even greater than we realised," said study author Dr. Tinka Van Trier of Amsterdam University Medical Centre, the Netherlands. "Our study shows that kicking the habit appears to be as effective as taking three medications for preventing heart attacks and strokes in those with a prior heart attack or procedure to open blocked arteries. Patients could gain nearly five years of healthy life."

"This analysis focused on smokers who had experienced a heart attack and/or undergone stent implantation or bypass surgery," she added. "This group is at particularly high risk of having another heart attack or a stroke and stopping smoking is potentially the most effective preventive action."

The study used data from 989 patients aged 45 years and older who were still smoking at least six months after having a heart attack and/or undergoing stent implantation or bypass surgery. The average age was 60 years and 23% were women. Patients were generally well treated with standard preventive medications (antiplatelets, statins and blood pressure-lowering drugs). The median time since the heart attack or procedure was 1.2 years.