Monika Safford discusses the behavioral mechanisms that most contribute to the association between depression and MI or death in those with CHD.

The FDA today updated its safety review of the smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix, Pfizer). A large meta-analysis, which the FDA had required Pfizer to perform, found a higher rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients taking varenicline than in patients taking placebo. However, the increase in risk was very small and did not achieve statistical significance….

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Compared with women who never smoked, the risk of sudden cardiac death was significantly elevated in current smokers (relative risk 2.44) and former smokers (1.40). Quitting helps: by 20 years the risk for ex-smokers was similar to women who had never smoked.

Four new studies offer powerful evidence of the dangers of smoking and the health benefits of quitting or not being exposed to secondhand smoke. Smoking in the U.K. — Between 1996 amd 2001, the Million Women Study started following more than one million women aged 50 to 65 years of age. In  a report published…

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This week’s topics include imaging risks, oral contraceptives and the risk for MI and stroke, smoking and mortality in those aged 60 and older, and wasteful spending on cardiovascular tests.

Compared with men, women have a significant 25% increase in risk for coronary heart disease caused by cigarettes, according to a large meta-analysis published in the Lancet. Rachel Huxley and Mark Woodward analyzed data from 2.4 million participants in studies that adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors and found that the female-to-male relative risk ratio (RRR)…

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The FDA said that the anti-smoking drug varenicline (Chantix) may increase the risk for cardiovascular events in people who already have cardiovascular disease. The new information will be added to the drug’s label and Medication Guide for patients. The FDA does not recommend that people with cardiovascular disease stop taking varenicline, but it says that…

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The latest report on the 40,000 women enrolled in the Women’s Health Study provides further demonstration that smoking is a “potent” risk factor for symptomatic peripheral artery disease. The paper, by David Conen and colleagues, appears in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Here are the age-adjusted incidence rates per 1000 person-years of follow-up: never smoked:…

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According to a CDC analysis in MMWR, nearly half the U.S. population is now protected from second-hand smoke by comprehensive laws that restrict smoking in three venues (private sector worksites, restaurants, and bars). If the current trend continues, all 50 states and the District of Columbia will be smoke-free by 2020. The first [statewide] law…

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Quitting smoking soon before surgery is safe, according to a new meta-analysis published in Archives of Internal Medicine. In response to fears that people who stopped smoking within 8 weeks prior to surgery may have had worse outcomes, Katie Myers and colleagues analyzed data from 9 studies and found no association with postoperative complications. The…

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