In-hospital mortality of habitual cigarette smokers after acute myocardial infarction. The ‘smoker’s paradox' in a countrywide study

• Published in: European heart journal 2001-05, Vol.22 (9), p.776-784
• Main Authors: Andrikopoulos, G.K, Richter, D.J, Dilaveris, P.E, Pipilis, A, Zaharoulis, A, Gialafos, J.E, Toutouzas, P.K, Chimonas, E.T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute myocardial infarction; Aged; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiology. Vascular system; Chi-Square Distribution; cigarette smoking; Coronary heart disease; Female; Greece - epidemiology; Heart; Hospital Mortality; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Myocardial Infarction - diagnosis; Myocardial Infarction - mortality; Myocardial Infarction - therapy; Prognosis; Smoking - adverse effects; Smoking - mortality; Thrombolytic Therapy
• ISSN: 0195-668X; 1522-9645
• DOI: 10.1053/euhj.2000.2315

Aims Habitual cigarette smokers, paradoxically, present improved short-term prognosis after acute myocardial infarction, a phenomenon often termed ‘smoker’s paradox'. We sought to examine cigarette smokers' post-infarction survival advantage in a countrywide survey of unselected, consecutive patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction. Methods and Results The study population was derived from the registry of the Hellenic study of acute myocardial infarction, which recruited 7433 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction from 76, out of a total of 86, hospitals countrywide. Cigarette smokers presented with lower unadjusted mortality rates (7·4% vs 14·5%, P