Early signs of heart disease in young adult smokers may quickly dissipate soon after they kick the habit, a new study shows.

Smoking disrupts the normal function of the lining of arteries, known as the endothelium, which must contract and relax to regulate blood flow. This can promote the development of atherosclerosis (condition where deposits of fats and minerals form on the walls of an artery) or cause hardening of the arteries, thereby increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to the report.

The researchers used positron emission tomography or "PET" imaging to examine the effects of smoking cessation on the blood flow in the coronary arteries of 15 men in their twenties and thirties who reported smoking an average of 20 cigarettes per day for more than 5 years and agreed to stop smoking for at least 6 months.

The finding that young healthy smokers have impaired artery function but that it is reversible within a month after smoking cessation, supports the value of quitting smoking to ward off heart disease in young adults, the investigators say.

Source: The Journal of Nuclear Medicine