Smoking cessation reduced the risk of cardiovascular complications in cancer patients
Cancer patients who continue to smoke after diagnosis have a significantly higher risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death than nonsmokers. Patients who have been diagnosed with malignancies should be strongly advised to give up the bad habit.Researchers from the Medical College of Yeongseo University in Seoul evaluated the effect of smoking on the risk of cardiovascular complications (myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from cardiovascular disease) among cancer survivors. The results of the study are published on the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) website, citing the European Heart Journal.
The risk of cardiovascular complications among participants who continued, started, or quit smoking was 86.51 and 20% higher than among nonsmokers. Quitting smoking after diagnosis reduced the likelihood of cardiovascular complications by 36% compared with continuing smokers.
They analyzed five-year data from 309,095 patients with cancer who had not previously been diagnosed with a myocardial infarction or stroke. The average age of the participants was 59 years. Patients were divided into four groups based on changes in smoking status after a cancer diagnosis. The first group included nonsmokers (80.9%) and the second group included those who had quit smoking (10.1%). 1.5% started smoking for the first time or started smoking again after being diagnosed with the disease, and 7.5% of participants continued smoking.
The researchers found that more than 40% of patients who smoked before cancer was diagnosed continued to smoke afterward. This finding underscores the need for more vigorous smoking cessation efforts. Despite some reduction in the risk of cardiovascular complications after reducing smoking, the authors insist on recommending total cessation of the habit. Such a strategy may improve survival among cancer patients.