CV Risk May Remain High Decades After Smoking Cessation

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Heavy smokers' cardiovascular risk appears to remain elevated well beyond 5 years after they quit, according to an observational study in JAMA.

Researchers studied nearly 8800 adults who were free of cardiovascular disease at baseline. During a median 26 years' follow-up, 28% experienced a first cardiovascular event.

Relative to current heavy smokers (20 or more lifetime pack-years), former heavy smokers had reduced cardiovascular risk within 5 years of quitting (6.9 vs. 11.6 incident CVD events per 1000 person-years). But when compared with people who never smoked, cardiovascular risk was still elevated for former heavy smokers until 10 to 15 years after smoking cessation. In one cohort, risk was still elevated at 24 years.