"I believe this is the first PET study that shows abnormal coronary function is reversible after only one month of smoking cessation," said study co-author Nagara Tamaki of the nuclear medicine department at Hokkaido University in Sapporo.

"Smoking cessation normalized abnormal coronary artery function, thus supporting its value in preventing heart disease in young adults."

The PET imaging shows abnormal coronary artery function can be measured by coronary blood flow and flow response to cold stimulation in healthy young smokers.

The researchers noted that improvement was "preserved" six months after the study's subject stopped smoking, "supporting the value of smoking cessation for prevention of coronary artery disease particularly in the young."

The findings are published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.