Within five years of quitting former female smokers have no greater risk of dying from coronary heart disease than nonsmokers, according to a new study.

HealthDay News reported May 6 that while risk for other smoking-related health problems lingers longer, heart health seems to bounce back more quickly.

Lung-cancer risk persisted 30 years after quitting, however, and former smokers face higher odds of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for more than 20 years after quitting, the study found.

The study was conducted by researcher Stacey Kenfield of the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues. "It's never too early to stop, and it's never too late to stop," said Kenfield.

"This shows the power of quitting smoking," said Jay Brooks, study co-author and chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. "We've known this for a number of years, but the beauty of this study is it is a very large and well-studied group of people. When I tell people to quit smoking, I say the effect of the heart precedes that of the lungs. If you've smoked, you need to be cognizant that you're still at an increased risk of lung cancer."

The findings appear in the May 7, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.