According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 6.2 million people in the United States suffer from heart failure. Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood and oxygen to other organs as needed. It often worsens with age, causing debilitating conditions, and has also been linked to smoking.

Researchers analyzed the association between e-cigarette use and new heart failure diagnoses using data and electronic health records from 175,667 participants in a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health. Within a median follow-up of 45 months, 3,242 participants developed heart failure. The average age of participants in the study was 52 years.

“A growing body of research is linking e-cigarettes to adverse effects, and we’re finding that they may not be as safe as previously thought,” said the study’s lead author, a professor at MedStar Health in Baltimore. said Dr. Yakubu Bene Alhassan, a medical resident. “The differences we saw were substantial. It’s worth considering the impact on health, especially heart health.”

Past research has shown that e-cigarette use may be safer than smoking regular cigarettes and may help people quit smoking, but e-cigarette use may be harmful to lung and cardiovascular function. It has been shown to cause effects similar to smoking.

Bene-Alhassan said vaping is not an effective way to quit smoking because many people continue vaping long after quitting cigarettes. The CDC recommends a combination of counseling and medications, such as nicotine patches, as the best way to quit smoking.

The new study was observational, meaning the researchers were able to “infer” but not “conclusively determine” a causal relationship between e-cigarette use and heart failure.

“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. ”

In 2018, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory calling youth e-cigarette use an “epidemic.”

Results from the 2023 National Annual Survey on Youth Tobacco showed that 10% (2.8 million) of high school and middle school students reported using any tobacco product. Research shows that e-cigarettes are the most commonly used.

According to the CDC, 4.5% of Americans age 18 and older were current e-cigarette users in 2021.

Electronic cigarettes are commonly referred to as “electronic cigarettes,” “electronic hookahs,” “mods,” and “vape pens.” Many e-cigarettes look like USB flash drives, but the most common one is the Juul. A typical Juul cartridge, or “pod,” contains about the same amount of nicotine as a 20-pack of cigarettes, according to the Surgeon General.

E-cigarettes can also be used to smoke other drugs, most commonly marijuana.