BACKGROUND: Smoking accounts for more than 5 million years of potential life lost per year in the US alone. Leading causes of smoking attributable mortality are acute atherothrombotic complications of coronary heart disease (CHD). Smoking cessation is a key issue in preventive medicine, but quantitative data on its benefit for the coronary arteries are sparse. METHODS: The Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study is an ongoing population-based, prospective cohort study, with 4814 participants aged 45-74 years (49.8% men). Baseline data of 4078 participants without history of established coronary heart disease or stroke are included in this report. Electron beam-computed tomography allows for non-invasive quantification of coronary artery calcium (CAC). We estimate the risk-related ageing of coronary arteries from multivariable regression of CAC on smoking behavior, sex, age and risk factors. RESULTS: Smoking 20 cigarettes per day since the age of 16 is associated with a CAC burden which is found in a person 10 years older who has never smoked (both sexes). Smoking cessation at 45, 55 or 65 leads to CAC at the age of 75 that would have been reached 9, 6 or 3 years earlier, respectively, had smoking been continued. CONCLUSIONS: In individuals without overt CHD, present smokers are about 10 years older in 'coronary artery age' than never smokers. The accumulation of CAC is accelerated by smoking and slows down after smoking cessation, but advanced CAC is persistent for a long period. These quantitative findings strongly support smoking cessation measures as early as possible, to prevent accelerated arterial ageing.
BACKGROUND: Smoking accounts for more than 5 million years of potential life lost per year in the US alone. Leading causes of smoking attributable mortality are acute atherothrombotic complications of coronary heart disease (CHD). Smoking cessation is a key issue in preventive medicine, but quantitative data on its benefit for the coronary arteries are sparse. METHODS: The Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study is an ongoing population-based, prospective cohort study, with 4814 participants aged 45-74 years (49.8% men). Baseline data of 4078 participants without history of established coronary heart disease or stroke are included in this report. Electron beam-computed tomography allows for non-invasive quantification of coronary artery calcium (CAC). We estimate the risk-related ageing of coronary arteries from multivariable regression of CAC on smoking behavior, sex, age and risk factors. RESULTS: Smoking 20 cigarettes per day since the age of 16 is associated with a CAC burden which is found in a person 10 years older who has never smoked (both sexes). Smoking cessation at 45, 55 or 65 leads to CAC at the age of 75 that would have been reached 9, 6 or 3 years earlier, respectively, had smoking been continued. CONCLUSIONS: In individuals without overt CHD, present smokers are about 10 years older in 'coronary artery age' than never smokers. The accumulation of CAC is accelerated by smoking and slows down after smoking cessation, but advanced CAC is persistent for a long period. These quantitative findings strongly support smoking cessation measures as early as possible, to prevent accelerated arterial ageing.
Authors: Rine Nakanishi; Daniel S Berman; Matthew J Budoff; Heidi Gransar; Stephan Achenbach; Mouaz Al-Mallah; Daniele Andreini; Filippo Cademartiri; Tracy Q Callister; Hyuk-Jae Chang; Victor Y Cheng; Kavitha Chinnaiyan; Benjamin J W Chow; Ricardo Cury; Augustin Delago; Martin Hadamitzky; Jörg Hausleiter; Gudrun Feuchtner; Yong-Jin Kim; Philipp A Kaufmann; Jonathon Leipsic; Fay Y Lin; Erica Maffei; Gianluca Pontone; Gilbert Raff; Leslee J Shaw; Todd C Villines; Allison Dunning; James K Min Journal: Eur Heart J Date: 2015-02-08 Impact factor: 29.983
Authors: Kaffer Kara; Amir A Mahabadi; Marie H Geisel; Nils Lehmann; Hagen Kälsch; Marcus Bauer; Till Neumann; Nico Dragano; Susanne Moebus; Stefan Möhlenkamp; Karl-Heinz Jöckel; Raimund Erbel Journal: Clin Res Cardiol Date: 2013-10-15 Impact factor: 5.460
Authors: Marcus Bauer; Joseph A C Delaney; Stefan Möhlenkamp; Karl-Heinz Jöckel; Richard A Kronmal; Nils Lehmann; Kenneth J Mukamal; Susanne Moebus; Joseph F Polak; Nico Dragano; Matthew J Budoff; Raimund Erbel; Robyn L McClelland Journal: J Am Soc Echocardiogr Date: 2013-04-20 Impact factor: 5.251
Authors: Stefan Möhlenkamp; Nils Lehmann; Axel Schmermund; Ulla Roggenbuck; Susanne Moebus; Nico Dragano; Marcus Bauer; Hagen Kälsch; Barbara Hoffmann; Andreas Stang; Martina Bröcker-Preuss; Michael Böhm; Klaus Mann; Karl-Heinz Jöckel; Raimund Erbel Journal: Clin Res Cardiol Date: 2009-08-20 Impact factor: 5.460