Among smokers hospitalized with a heart attack, counseling them to quit smoking before they leave the hospital is associated with significant increases in short- and long-term survival rates, according to a study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Details of the study are published in the current issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

While other studies have suggested a link between counseling and cessation, and others have demonstrated an association between cessation and survival, this study shows a direct association of counseling with survival. “This study demonstrates a positive association between counseling and survival within the first 30 days of quitting smoking following a cardiac event,” said Thomas Houston, MD, assistant professor of medicine with UAB’s Division of Internal Medicine and lead investigator of the study.

Researchers analyzed medical records of 16,743 smokers hospitalized with a heart attack. Of these, 41 percent received inpatient smoking cessation counseling. “Compared with patients who did not receive counseling, these patients had lower 30-day, 60-day and two-year mortality rates,” Houston said.

“Because we found counseling impacted survival rates within the first 30 days, even smokers who quit then relapse months later may experience some early benefit,” Houston said. “Therefore, for patients unwilling to quit permanently, recommending, at a minimum, not smoking for a brief time after being discharged from the hospital could be beneficial.”

Other UAB researchers who collaborated on the study are: Jeroan Allison, MD, Sharina Person, PhD, Stacey Kovac, PhD, Dale Williams, PhD, and Catarina Kiefe, MD, PhD.

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