Smoking Increases Risk for Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes After PCI

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 27, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), smoking is associated with an increased risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes, according to a study published online Sept. 27 in the European Heart Journal.

Using a nationwide database from the Korean National Health Insurance System, You-Jeong Ki, M.D., from the Uijeongbu Eulji Medical Center in the South Korea, and colleagues examined the impact of smoking and its cessation after PCI on cardiovascular outcomes among 74,471 patients undergoing PCI between 2009 and 2016. Participants were classified as nonsmokers, ex-smokers, or current smokers, depending on their status at the first health checkup within one year following PCI.

The researchers found that current smokers had a 19.8 percent higher rate of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) than nonsmokers during 4.0 years of follow-up (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.198), while the rate was comparable for ex-smokers and nonsmokers. The effects of smoking cessation were analyzed among 31,887 patients with both pre- and post-PCI health check-up data. For those who stopped smoking after PCI, the rate of MACCE was comparable for quitters with cumulative smoking exposure of <20 pack-years (PYs) and persistent nonsmokers. However, quitters with cumulative exposure of ≥20 PYs had a rate that was comparable with that of persistent smokers (adjusted hazard ratios, 1.206 for 20 to 30 PYs; 1.227 for ≥30 PYs; and 1.223 for persistent smokers compared with persistent nonsmokers).

"Smoking cessation as early as possible would be recommended as a fundamental measure of better clinical outcomes for patients undergoing PCI," the authors write.

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