Does smoking cessation improve quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease?

Objective. To evaluate whether smoking cessation after a coronary event improves quality of life, and to assess whether quality of life is a predictor of smoking cessation. Design. Health-related quality of life at baseline and at 12 months follow up were measured in a randomised smoking cessation trial of 240 smokers aged under 76 years admitted for myocardial infarction, unstable angina or coronary bypass surgery. At 12 months follow up 101 had managed to give up smoking (quitters), and 117 were smokers (sustained smokers). Results. The quitters and sustained smokers had similar improvements in all quality of life domains from baseline to 12 months follow up. Further, after adjustment for differences in baseline characteristics, the quality of life was not significantly different in the quitters compared to the sustained smokers neither at baseline nor at 12 months follow up. Conclusions. Smoking cessation did not improve quality of life compared to sustained smoking after a coronary event in a 12 month follow up. Quality of life was not a significant predictor of smoking cessation.