Smoking cessation and outcome in stable outpatients with coronary, cerebrovascular, or peripheral artery disease

Background: The influence of smoking cessation on outcome in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has not been thoroughly studied. Methods: FRENA is an ongoing registry of stable outpatients with symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), or PAD. We compared the mortality rate of those who quit vs. those who continued smoking. Results: As of December 2010, 3523 patients were recruited, of whom 1182 (34%) were current smokers. Of these, 475 patients (40%) had CAD, 240 (20%) had CVD, and 467 (40%) had PAD. In all, 512 patients (43%) quit smoking. Over a mean follow-up of 14 months, 32 patients (2.7%) died and 95 (8.0%) had subsequent ischaemic events (myocardial infarction 32, ischaemic stroke 20, critical limb ischaemia/disabling claudication 53). In patients with CAD, the mortality rate was significantly lower in recent quitters (0.77 vs. 3.73 deaths per 100 patient-years; p=0.013) than in persistent smokers. No quitter with CVD died (0.0 vs. 2.18 deaths; p=0.092); but in patients with PAD there was a trend towards a higher mortality in quitters than in those who continued smoking (4.29 vs. 2.27 deaths; p=0.357). On multivariate analysis, the relative risk for death in quitters was 0.20 (95% CI 0.05-0.75) in patients with CAD, 0.0 in those with CVD, and 1.83 (95% CI 0.65-5.15) in those with PAD. Conclusions: Smoking cessation was associated with a significant decrease in mortality in patients with CAD, a nonsignificant decrease in those with CVD, and a non-significant increase in those with PAD. © The European Society of Cardiology 2012.