REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Quitting smoking is associated with a substantial reduction in risk of all-cause mortality among patients with CHD .
This 36 % risk reduction appears substantial compared with other secondary preventive therapies such as cholesterol lowering which have received greater attention in recent years .
The risk reduction associated with quitting smoking seems consistent regardless of differences between the studies in terms of index cardiac events , age , sex , country , and time period .
BACKGROUND Although the importance of smoking as a risk factor for coronary heart disease is beyond doubt , the speed and magnitude of risk reduction when a smoker with coronary heart disease quits are still subjects of debate .
OBJECTIVES To estimate the magnitude of risk reduction when a patient with CHD stops smoking .
Effect of aspirin use on death and recurrent myocardial infarction in current and former cigarette smokers. Program on the Surgical Control of the Hyperlipidemias Group.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of aspirin use on mortality and morbidity rates in a subset of the control group of the Program on the Surgical Control of the Hyperlipidemias ( POSCH ) that was stratified by cigarette smoking status at the time of r and omization . The clinical impact of aspirin intake in cigarette smokers and former cigarette smokers has not been well studied . POSCH was a r and omized , controlled , clinical trial design ed to ascertain the effects of lipid modification by the partial ileal bypass operation on clinical end-points and arteriographic changes in postmyocardial infa rct ion subjects with hypercholesterolemia . Cohorts of cigarette smokers in the diet-control group were evaluated for overall and atherosclerotic coronary heart disease ( ACHD ) mortality rates and recurrent confirmed nonfatal myocardial infa rct ion rates .  In current cigarette smokers at baseline ( n = 90 ) with a mean follow-up of 8.3 years , the overall mortality rate was 45.2 % in patients with no aspirin use and 10.4 % in patients who reported even infrequent aspirin use ( relative risk = 4.3 , 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) = 2.4 to 10.6 , p < 0.001 ) . For ACHD mortality in this cohort , the relative risk was 17.1 ( 35.7 % vs 2.1 % , 95 % CI = 1.4 to 125.0 , p < 0.001 ) ; for the combined end-point of ACHD mortality and nonfatal myocardial infa rct ion , the relative risk was 2.4 ( 40.5 % vs 16.7 % , 95 % CI = 1.2 to 5.1 , p = 0.018 ) . ( ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Quitting smoking is associated with a substantial reduction in risk of all-cause mortality among patients with CHD .
This 36 % risk reduction appears substantial compared with other secondary preventive therapies such as cholesterol lowering which have received greater attention in recent years .
The risk reduction associated with quitting smoking seems consistent regardless of differences between the studies in terms of index cardiac events , age , sex , country , and time period .
BACKGROUND Although the importance of smoking as a risk factor for coronary heart disease is beyond doubt , the speed and magnitude of risk reduction when a smoker with coronary heart disease quits are still subjects of debate .
OBJECTIVES To estimate the magnitude of risk reduction when a patient with CHD stops smoking .