So you have heart disease. The doctor just put in one of those fancy drug eluting stents into one of your coronary arteries. You think to yourself how close you were to a major heart attack or even death. But now you've got the stent and all is well. Sure, smoking probably contributed to your heart disease in the first place and you even thought about quitting after your first episode of chest pain. But now the stent is there and all is wonderful. Or is it?
A new study out of Germany looked at the impact of smoking on the outcome of patients who were treated with the drug eluting stents. The trial included some 1,122 patients who had never smoked and 1,052 patients who were current smokers. Both groups had the drug eluting stents placed in their coronary arteries.
The smokers were on average: younger, male, had lower rates of diabetes and high blood pressure compared to non-smokers. But they presented with more frequent acute coronary syndromes than the non-smokers. They were all followed up after about 12 months.
The results showed a higher mortality and myocardial infarction rate in the smokers than non-smokers.
Mortality rate Myocardial infarction rate
Smokers: 4.6% 4.9%
Non-smokers: 2.7% 3.0%
These results clearly illustrate the evidence that smokers who are treated with drug eluting stents have a much higher rate of death and heart attack than non-smokers, despite having a lower prevalence of predisposing risk factors for atherosclerosis. This research can be viewed in the Clinical Research in Cardiology, 2010 Dec. 1. The authors are Sherif, et al.
The take home message is this: when you get a second chance because of a life saving medical technique or device, take it. It's simply never too late to stop smoking. You know, stopping smoking is a lot like milk, it does a body good.
