Heart takes 25 years to heal naturally when you quit smoking, study reveals

According to a Korean study conducted on 5.3 million people, the heart may take several decades to match the condition of non-smokers naturally after quitting smoking

Smoking deteriorates overall health, especially the heart. So it is advisable to quit smoking, but even if you quit smoking, how long does it take for a heart to start showing improvement?

 

Recently, a study was conducted by Seung Yong Shin, PhD, Korea University Ansan Hospital, on 5.3 million people in South Korea to understand the recovery phase of the heart once a person quits smoking.

 

The study found that different people take different time to heal after quitting smoking. Some people witness improvement within a year, while some take decades. The study conducted was focused on pack-years of smoking. The pack year is calculated by the number of packs smoked by the person multiplied by the number of years smoked.

 

 

According to the study, light smokers who did not reach the eight-pack-year threshold would witness heart health conditions of that of a non-smoker within five to ten years of quitting. While heavy smokers would take around 25 years to recover to the state of non-smokers.

What did the study find?

The research was conducted on 5,391,231 people in South Korea consisting of a predominantly male population with an average age of 45.8 years. These participants were tracked for an average of 4.2 years and their health conditions including heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure were recorded. Their smoking history, and the number of cigarettes per day when they quit smoking were also recorded. 

 

The study found that smoking has the devastating impact of smoking on health. It is observed that 30 pack-years had double the heart-related ailments compared to people who never smoked. 

 

The study challenges the notion that health improves immediately by quitting smoking. The body takes a lot of time to heal when someone quits smoking naturally. The study aims to inform people of the long-lasting impact of smoking and the amount it takes for the body to recover.