Severity of angiographically proven coronary artery disease predicts smoking cessation

We investigated the relationship between the extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) and the likelihood of cigarette smoking cessation in a population of 84 smokers between 21 and 75 years of age undergoing elective or urgent coronary angiography at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. The smokers were enrolled in a pilot study investigating the relationship of hospitalization and coronary arteriography for coronary artery disease to subsequent smoking cessation and were scored at baseline as having none, one-, two-, or three-vessel disease. Smoking status at a mean follow-up time of 11 months was obtained by telephone interview, at which point 50% reported not smoking. Logistic regression showed a significant relationship between smoking cessation and two factors: the anatomic extent of CAD and the experience of having had coronary artery bypass surgery or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty following the initial catheterization. We discuss the relative roles of patient knowledge and motivation and physician intervention, and their implications for smoking cessation interventions.