Smoking after AF diagnosis confers elevated stroke risk
Patients who started or continued smoking after an atrial fibrillation diagnosis experienced greater risk for stroke compared with patients who quit or never smoked, researchers reported.
"Smoking precipitates blood clots that could lead to a stroke, which may be why giving up lowers risk,” So-Ryoung Lee, MD, PhD, of the department of cardiology at Seoul National University Hospital, said in a press release. “The remaining stroke risk after quitting might be through the damage already caused to the arteries — called atherosclerosis."
For this study, presented at the virtual European Society of Cardiology Congress, researchers analyzed 97,869 patients (mean age, 61 years; 62% men; mean CHA2DS2-VASc score, 2.3) with newly diagnosed AF who underwent a national health checkup exam 2 years before and after AF diagnosis. Participants were stratified as being a never smoker, a new smoker after AF diagnosis, a quit-smoker after AF diagnosis or a persistent smoker. The primary outcome was stroke and the median follow-up was 3 years.
Compared with patients newly diagnosed with AF who never smoked, investigators found that new smokers (HR = 1.84; 95% CI, 1.48-2.27), quit-smokers (HR = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.03-1.38) and persistent smokers (HR = 1.66; 95% CI, 1.48-1.86) experienced higher risk for stroke.
Moreover, the risk for stroke among patients with AF in the quit-smoker group was lower compared with those whose smoking persisted after AF diagnosis (HR = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.608-0.851).
"If you don't smoke, don't start. If you do, it's never too late to quit. Regardless of how much you smoke, kicking the habit is good for health," Lee said in the release.
Collapse
Lee SR. Abstract 85742. Presented at: European Society of Cardiology Congress; Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 2020 (virtual meeting).
Read more about