Gaby
In a recent study, a team of South Korean researchers sought to determine whether the cardiovascular system of a cigarette smoker could eventually resemble that of someone who has never smoked. The findings revealed that this is indeed possible, but it requires a significant amount of time.
According to the data collected, after a person quits smoking, it takes about two and a half decades for their risk of heart disease to drop to an average level.
The results indicated that individuals who smoked for more than eight years have the same risk of heart attack or stroke as those who continue to smoke.
What Did the Scientists Discover?
During the study, researchers analyzed health data from over 100,000 former smokers, as well as more than four million individuals who have never smoked.
Notably, the former smokers were examined decades after they had quit.
The team considered factors such as the participants’ age, the age at which they started smoking, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and the age at which they kicked the habit.
The scientists found that the relationship between smoking and the risk of cardiovascular diseases is dose-dependent. For those who smoked less, the risk of developing such conditions significantly decreased shortly after quitting, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The researchers concluded that individuals with at least eight years of smoking experience may need 25 years for their risk of heart attack or stroke to align with that of someone who has never smoked.
The study’s authors noted, “The likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases in former heavy smokers is comparable to that of those who continue to smoke.”
The findings were published in the JAMA journal.
Why Is This Research Important?
Meanwhile, numerous previous studies have shown that smoking is linked to heart failure. This condition occurs when the heart muscle does not pump blood effectively, usually because it is too weak or stiff. As a result, the heart cannot supply organs and tissues with the oxygen and essential nutrients needed for proper functioning.
According to scientific data, 7,000 chemicals found in tobacco can damage blood vessels, leading to many of the heart-related issues caused by smoking.
By the way, over 8 million people worldwide die from cigarette smoking each year, with 1.3 million of them being non-smokers who succumb to the health effects of secondhand smoke.
