Cancer survivors who quit smoking have 36% lower cardiovascular risk

Cancer patients who continue smoking after their diagnosis have a nearly doubled risk of heart attack, stroke or death due to cardiovascular disease compared with non-smokers, according to research published on World No Tobacco Day in European Heart Journal.

The researchers analysed data from a Korean national health claims database. The study included 309,095 cancer survivors who had never had a myocardial infarction or stroke. The median age was 59 years and 52% were women. Patients were divided into four groups based on their change in smoking habits after receiving a cancer diagnosis: (1) sustained non-smokers, (2) quitters, (3) initiators/relapsers and (4) continuing smokers.

The researchers assessed the risk of cardiovascular events for each group during a median of 5.5 years. Compared with sustained non-smoking, the risk of cardiovascular events during follow up was 86%, 51% and 20% higher among continuing smokers, initiators/relapsers and quitters, respectively. The findings were consistent for women and men, and when the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and cardiovascular death were analysed separately.

The benefits of quitting were even higher when compared with continuing to smoke. Of those who were smokers before being diagnosed with cancer, 57% quit after finding out they had cancer. Smoking cessation was associated with a 36% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular events compared with continued smoking.

Reference:

EHJ,10.1093/eurheartj/ehad199