Cardiovascular Disease Risk for Light Smokers Who Quit Declines to Baseline Within 5 Years

Estimates of how fast risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) declines after smoking cessation are wide-ranging. In this study, investigators assessed CVD risk decline in 8770 participants (mean age, 42 at study entry) without known CVD at baseline in a long-running community-based study of heart disease. More than 5300 participants were ever-smokers (median, 17 pack-years of smoking at baseline). Of those, almost 2400 participants were classified as current or former heavy smokers (defined as ≥20 pack-years).

During a median follow-up of 26 years, 28% of participants experienced CVD events (i.e., myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, or cardiovascular-related death). Current smokers, compared with never-smokers, experienced significan…