Vaping has a similar impact on heart health as regular cigarette smoking, a new study supported by the American Health Association has found.
Vaping has a similar impact on heart health as regular cigarette smoking, a new study supported by the American Health Association has found. The research showed that shortly after vaping, users had elevated blood pressure and heart rate similarly to the body’s response to a ‘fight or flight’ situation that’s triggered by the brain’s sympathetic nervous system.
Scientists found the negative impact on cardiovascular function was similar in young vapers as in older smokers who had used traditional cigarettes for two decades longer.
“Immediately after vaping or smoking, there were worrisome changes in blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability and blood vessel tone (constriction), that impact on heart” said lead study author Matthew Tattersall, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
“These findings suggest worse cardiovascular disease risk factors right after vaping or smoking, and activation of the sympathetic nervous system may play a role in the adverse responses seen immediately after using e-cigarettes and after exercise testing 90 minutes later.”
According to a study conducted in 2022 in Sindh Pakistan e-cigarettes were mostly perceived as less harmful than conventional cigarettes by both non-users and users. It is alarming that the majority of non-users also thought of e-cigarettes as less harmful.
The study also reveals that this is possibly likely as it is marketed heavily as a safer alternative, and can potentially lead non-users to start using e-cigarettes in the near future.
The Wisconsin study assessed blood pressure, heart rate and the diameter of the brachial artery in the arm of each group before and after they smoked or vaped.
People who vaped and those who smoked combustible cigarettes had similar impact on heart like greater increases in heart rate and blood pressure immediately after using a cigarette or vape.
Those using nicotine also experienced greater constriction of the brachial artery and had worse measures of heart rate variability, indicating the activation of the body’s sympathetic nervous system — the fight-or-flight response that becomes more active when a person is stressed or in danger.
The response increases heart rate and blood pressure, and creates a greater need for oxygen by the heart and dysfunction in artery walls.
Treadmill stress tests were also performed, 90 minutes after participants had either vaped or smoked and 90 minutes after those who reported no nicotine use had rested. People who vaped and those who smoked cigarettes performed significantly worse on all four exercise parameters tested, compared to the group who reported no nicotine use.
Compared with those who did not take any nicotine, smokers and vapers achieved an impact on heart or lower cardiac workload, slower recovery and less exercise ability.
“We did not study the long-term effects of vaping, use of vaping as a smoking cessation aid or the effectiveness or safety of vaping in that context,” said Robert Turrell Professor in Cardiovascular Research at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
“However, these findings are concerning because they indicate vaping may increase cardiovascular risk.
“The message for people who smoke combustible cigarettes is the same as always – try to quit using tobacco and nicotine products and seek support from your physician and community to increase your chances of success.”