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Smoking remains major risk for CVD despite improved prevention
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Smoking remains a significant risk factor despite improvements in prevention and treatment of CVD, according to a study.
“The last 30 years have seen a proliferation of public health strategies to curb smoking yielding a significant decrease in prevalence of tobacco use in the United States,” Gordon M. Burke, MD, fellow in cardiovascular medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues wrote. “During the same time period, CVD incidence and deaths from CVD have declined, likely stemming from advancement in both medical therapies for CVD and treatment of its risk factors. Despite this, CVD remains the leading cause of mortality.”
Burke and colleagues analyzed 5,041 participants from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort (mean age, 36.1 years; 52% women) without prevalent CVD, which was defined as history of angina, coronary insufficiency, MI, coronary death, transient ischemic attack, stroke, peripheral artery disease or HF.
The prevalence of smoking declined from 44.5% at baseline to 28.7% at examination three and 15% at examination six.
During three prospective 12-year follow-up periods from 1971 to 2006, men who smoked had a consistent twofold increased risk in CVD vs. those who did not, and women who smoked had a consistent 1.5-fold increased risk vs. those who did not.
“Addressing CVD risk factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes, is of profound importance,” the researchers wrote. “Yet, our results suggest the continued, essential relevance of addressing smoking as a modifiable risk factor for CVD prevention. Our data suggest that the continued advances in CVD prevention may have limited effect in individuals who continue to smoke.” – by Cassie Homer
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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