Which lifestyle modification reduces cardiovascular risk and mortality in patients with angina?

Which lifestyle modification reduces cardiovascular risk and mortality in patients with angina?

• A. Aspirin
• B. Smoking cessation
• C. Beta-blocker
• D. Statin

Answer: (B)

Stopping smoking is a powerful lifestyle change that lowers cardiovascular risk and mortality in angina because tobacco use directly worsens heart disease: it raises heart rate and blood pressure, increases myocardial oxygen demand, reduces oxygen delivery through carbon monoxide, promotes inflammation and a pro-thrombotic state, and accelerates atherosclerosis. When someone quits, these harmful effects begin to reverse, reducing the likelihood of plaque rupture, recurrent angina, heart attack, and death over time. Among the options, this is the only true lifestyle modification; the others—aspirin, beta-blockers, and statins—are important medical therapies that work through other mechanisms (antiplatelet effect, heart-rate control, and cholesterol reduction, respectively) but are not lifestyle changes. Therefore, smoking cessation offers the most impactful lifestyle-driven reduction in cardiovascular risk for patients with angina.

Stopping smoking is a powerful lifestyle change that lowers cardiovascular risk and mortality in angina because tobacco use directly worsens heart disease: it raises heart rate and blood pressure, increases myocardial oxygen demand, reduces oxygen delivery through carbon monoxide, promotes inflammation and a pro-thrombotic state, and accelerates atherosclerosis. When someone quits, these harmful effects begin to reverse, reducing the likelihood of plaque rupture, recurrent angina, heart attack, and death over time. Among the options, this is the only true lifestyle modification; the others—aspirin, beta-blockers, and statins—are important medical therapies that work through other mechanisms (antiplatelet effect, heart-rate control, and cholesterol reduction, respectively) but are not lifestyle changes. Therefore, smoking cessation offers the most impactful lifestyle-driven reduction in cardiovascular risk for patients with angina.