How can smokers with 20 years of experience be protected from heart disease?

August 22, 2019  23:41

Giving up smoking is useful at any age, MedicalXpress reported.

According to a study by specialists from Vanderbilt University (USA), even heavy smokers with 20 years of experience can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease within five years if they stop smoking.

Scientists analyzed the data of 8770 people, obtained in 1954-2014, to understand how full or partial smoking cessation affects the cardiovascular system. The risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure and death from impaired functioning of the cardiovascular system was taken into account.

Ex-smokers’ body recovers relatively quickly, even for those who smoked for several decades and then give up. During the first five years after giving up smoking, the probability of impaired heart and blood vessels is reduced by 39%. But it takes from 10 to 25 years to reduce the risk of disease to the level of people who never smoked.

Smoking causes 20% of deaths due to heart attacks, strokes and other diseases of the circulatory system. And giving up smoking is always good for your health and never too late.

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