Vaping may not be as safe as we once thought, especially when it comes to heart health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4.5% of U.S. adults use e-cigarettes in 2021. E-cigarettes are especially popular among young people, with about one in seven high school students using e-cigarettes, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

E-cigarettes may be a safer alternative to cigarettes, but previous research has shown that e-cigarette use is associated with lung disease, asthma, blood vessel damage, and heart disease, especially in people with pre-existing health conditions. is associated with an increased risk of A large study led by MedStar Health in Baltimore found that e-cigarette users may be 19 percent more likely to develop heart failure than those who have never used e-cigarettes. It was shown that

Yakub Bene Alhassan, a medical resident at MedStar Health in Baltimore and the study’s lead author, said in a statement: “A growing body of research is linking e-cigarettes to adverse effects, making them safer than previously thought. It turns out that this may not be the case.” .

“The differences we saw were substantial. It’s worth considering the impact on health, especially heart health.”

The results will be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual scientific meeting, April 6 to April 8. Bene-Alhasan and colleagues analyzed survey data and electronic health record data. We investigated the relationship between the two. E-cigarette use and heart failure. The study looked at a total of 175,667 participants with an average age of 52 years, of whom 3,242 developed heart failure within an average follow-up period of 45 months.

People who used e-cigarettes were 19 percent more likely to develop heart failure than people who never vaped, even after accounting for other heart disease risk factors and the use of alcohol and tobacco products. It has been found.

This association was particularly pronounced among patients experiencing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Ejection fraction occurs when the heart muscle becomes stiff and does not fill properly with blood during contractions. This type of heart failure has increased in recent decades, so establishing its potential risk factors is important for public health.

The findings are consistent with previous studies in animals linking e-cigarette use to cardiovascular problems and heart disease. However, this study is still purely observational, and further research is needed to confirm the molecular mechanisms underlying this association. Still, the large sample size and detailed data used in this study highlight the importance of further research in this area.

“I think this study has been long overdue, especially given how much attention e-cigarettes are getting,” Bene-Alhassan said. “We don’t want to wait too long until we finally find out that it can be harmful. And by then, a lot of the harm may have already been done. As more research continues… “If we do, we’ll learn more about underlying health conditions.”Improve results and improve the information we share with the public. ”

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