Zyban as an Effective Smoking Cessation Aid for Patients Following an Acute Coronary Syndrome: The ZESCA Trial

Summary

Patients who continue to smoke after a heart attack have a 35% increased risk of a recurrent event or death compared with those who quit. Many patients attempt to stop smoking after a heart attack, but relapse rates approach 66%. A variety of smoking cessation aids have been shown to be effective for the general population. However, bupropion is the only non-nicotine replacement therapy shown to improve abstinence rates in healthy young smokers. Furthermore, nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) are contraindicated in the immediate period following a heart attack because of the undesirable effects of nicotine. Although bupropion has been successfully used to reduce smoking rates in healthy young populations, its efficacy and safety in the setting of patients recovering from an ACS is unknown. These patients, if they continue to smoke, are at exceptionally high risk for recurrent cardiac events. If bupropion is effective in this population, it will have a major impact on secondary prevention of recurrent clinical events in patients who suffer a heart attack.

Timeline

Start

2005-12

Primary completion

2010-06

Completion

2010-06

Publications

• Hajizadeh A, Howes S, Theodoulou A, Klemperer E, Hartmann-Boyce J, Livingstone-Banks J, Lindson N. Antidepressants for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 May 24;5(5):CD000031. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD000031.pub6.
• Hartmann-Boyce J, Theodoulou A, Farley A, Hajek P, Lycett D, Jones LL, Kudlek L, Heath L, Hajizadeh A, Schenkels M, Aveyard P. Interventions for preventing weight gain after smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Oct 6;10(10):CD006219. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006219.pub4.
• Taylor GM, Lindson N, Farley A, Leinberger-Jabari A, Sawyer K, Te Water Naude R, Theodoulou A, King N, Burke C, Aveyard P. Smoking cessation for improving mental health. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Mar 9;3(3):CD013522. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013522.pub2.
• Zhang DD, Eisenberg MJ, Grandi SM, Joseph L, O'Loughlin J, Paradis G, Lozano P, Filion KB. Bupropion, smoking cessation, and health-related quality of life following an acute myocardial infarction. J Popul Ther Clin Pharmacol. 2014;21(3):e346-56. Epub 2014 Oct 8.
• Shimony A, Grandi SM, Pilote L, Joseph L, O'Loughlin J, Paradis G, Rinfret S, Sarrafzadegan N, Adamjee N, Yadav R, Gamra H, Diodati JG, Eisenberg MJ; ZESCA Investigators. Utilization of evidence-based therapy for acute coronary syndrome in high-income and low/middle-income countries. Am J Cardiol. 2014 Mar 1;113(5):793-7. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2013.11.024. Epub 2013 Dec 12.

Drugs

Indications