Cigarette smoking has been established as a major cause of lung disease deaths; now, there is growing evidence that electronic cigarettes may hurt the heart too.
During the meeting of the American Heart Association, two separate studies have presented that show how e-cigarettes affect cholesterol and the body's ability to pump blood.
In one study, the researchers from Boston University School of Medicine compared the cholesterol levels among four groups of adults: those who used e-cigarettes, those who smoked regular cigarettes, and those who used both products and the nonsmokers.
There were 476 participants that were basically healthy and had not been diagnosed with heart disease. But the study found out that those who used e-cigarettes had higher levels of unhealthy LDL cholesterol, on average, compared with nonsmokers. And levels of healthy HDL cholesterol were lower among those who used both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes.
Health concerns about vaping
Dr. Sana Majid, a study author and postdoctoral fellow in vascular biology at Boston University School of Medicine, said that this is a snapshot of what is happening right now. There is a lot that they still do not know about electronic cigarettes. It is going to take time for them to understand how e-cigarettes affect your heart health in the long-term.
The second study looked at how smoking either electronic cigarettes or traditional cigarettes with nicotine impacted the heart's ability to pump blood through the body at rest and during exercise. That research included 19 smokers in ages 20 to 40 years old, as well as an additional small group of people who did not use either product. Blood flow increases when we exercise.
This was predictably observed in the group of nonsmokers, using a type of ultrasound imaging called myocardial contrast echocardiogram. Traditional cigarette smoking is also known to reduce blood flow during exercise, which was also noted in the study.
After exercise, the study noted that blood flow returned to normal in participants who smoked. The researchers found something surprising when they measured the blood flow of electronic cigarette users, their hearts' ability to pump blood was diminished both at rest and during exercise.
The author of the study, Dr. Florian Rader, a medical director of the Human Physiology Laboratory and assistant director of the Noninvasive Laboratory at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said that it was an evidence that there is something wrong with the blood flow regulation in smokers and maybe even more so in electronic cigarette smokers. He also added that these products are made and marketed as healthy alternatives to traditional cigarettes, and yet there are studies that show that they are not healthy. This is not the first time that vaping has been found to impact the blood vessel function.
Research published in August by the University of Pennsylvania also showed electronic cigarette use reduced blood flow, and the effect lasted for an hour after vaping. In the study conducted, electronic cigarettes contained no nicotine, only sweeteners, and flavorings.
The effect of vaping on lungs
Vaping's effects on the lungs is known and well documented. The new study came amid a growing epidemic of what health experts are calling EVALI, short of "electronic or vaping products use associated lung injury."
For months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been steadily increasing the number of confirmed cases of the vaping-related illness, which now stands at 2,051. Diagnosed patients suffered severe coughing, trouble in their breathing, fever, fatigue, diarrhea, and vomiting. A lot have needed mechanical assistance breathing in intensive care units.
