Having been a smoker does not condemn your cardiovascular health. This is what a large study published on August 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The risk of cardiovascular diseases associated with smoking decreases sharply during weaning, in particular from 5 years after stopping smoking. The researchers were particularly interested in myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure in heavy smokers… On average, the risks drop by 39% after 5 years.
10 to 15 years of weaning for good cardiovascular health
Even better, the study reveals that after weaning for 10 to 15 years, ex-smokers have almost the same risk rate for cardiovascular disease as non-smokers. Regardless of age, the researchers point out.
How did the researchers come to these conclusions? They looked at data from 8,770 people over 50 years, between 1954 and 2015. Of that total, 2,371 people smoked more than 20 packs a year. If these results are encouraging, the study emphasizes that ex-smokers still have a slightly higher risk than others of developing a cardiovascular complication.
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