Smoking Cessation Drug Raises Risk of CV Events
The commonly prescribed smoking cessation drug varenicline may increase users’ risk of cardiovascular (CV) events, according to a recent observational study.1
For their study, Andrea S. Gershon, MD, of the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues evaluated the medical records of 56,851 new users of varenicline in Ontario from September 2011 to February 2015. Records were assessed 1 year prior to the year of varenicline prescription, and patients served as their own controls.
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Each record was analyzed for both CV and neuropsychiatric events. CV events were defined as heart attack, stroke, arrhythmias, unstable angina, and peripheral vascular disease. Neuropsychiatric events were defined as depression, anxiety, psychosis, hallucinations, insomnia, and self-harm.
Results of the study indicated that patients taking varenicline had a 34% higher chance of having an emergency department (ED) visit or hospitalization for a CV event. Notably, this risk was 12% higher among patients who had not previously experienced a CV event. An estimated 3.95 adverse CV events per 1000 varenicline users could be attributed to varenicline use.
Although there had been a small increase in ED visits and hospitalizations with neuropsychiatric symptoms due to varenicline use, these findings ultimately had not reached clinical significance.
“Quitting smoking greatly reduces a person’s chances of developing heart disease and cancer and has many other health benefits,” Dr Gershon said. “Our findings should not be used to suggest people not take varenicline. The findings should be used to help people make an informed decision about whether they should take varenicline based on accurate information about its risks as well as its benefits.”2
—Christina Vogt
Reference:
1. Gershon AS, Campitelli MA, Hawken S, et al. Cardiovascular and neurovascular events following varenicline use for smoking cessation [Published online December 18, 2017]. Am J Respir Crit Care. http://www.thoracic.org/about/newsroom/press-releases/resources/varenicline-and-cv-risk.pdf?_zs=0rhOM1&_zl=MM3D4.
2. Smoking cessation drug may increase risk of adverse cardiovascular event [press release]. American Thoracic Society. December 20, 2017. [link]. Accessed December 20, 2017.