E-cigs are as bad for your heart as smoking, claim two new studies
PEOPLE who regularly vape experience "worrisome changes in heart and blood vessel function," experts have said.
Two new studies have found that vapes can damage the heart just as much as cigarettes.
Vaping is widely recognised as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes.
While traditional cigarettes contain tobacco and nicotine - the substance that makes them addictive - e-cigarettes only contain nicotine.
As a result, a government concluded that e-cigarettes are around 95 per cent less harmful than tobacco products.
But that does not mean e-cigarettes are harmless, and a growing body of evidence has linked nicotine to a greater risk of heart conditions.
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The new research, presented at the , found vaping and smoking cause people's heart rates to spike.
US scientists found that both devices put the body in "fight or flight" mode, just 15 minutes after use.
This response usually becomes more active when a person is stressed or in danger.
It increases heart rate and blood pressure and creates a greater need for oxygen by the heart and can damage artery walls.
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Another study, by the same researchers, revealed that people who vape performed worse on treadmill exercise measurements that predict heart disease risk, compared to people who did not use any nicotine.
The results were the same for even those people who were younger and had a shorter history of smoking or vaping.
Professor Matthew Tattersall, lead author of the study, said: "Immediately after vaping or smoking there were worrisome changes in blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability and blood vessel tone.
"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."
Both studies, by the University of Wisconsin in the US, involved almost 400 people, including 164 vapers and 117 smokers.
They were monitored before vaping and smoking and 15 minutes afterwards.
All smokers and vapers saw their heart rate rise by four beats per minute compared with non-users.
Blood pressure also rose, by the same amount for both.
Hazel Cheeseman of charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said: “Evidence is clear that if you’re a smoker it is better to switch to vaping but if you don’t smoke, don’t vape.
"However, calmly pointing this out doesn’t make headlines. My fear is that overclaiming harms from vaping could cost lives if it deters a smoker from switching.”
Vaping has risen rapidly over the past decade to reach record levels in the UK with an estimated 4.3 million people regularly using e-cigarettes, according to a report.
Meanwhile, previous data revealed that soaring numbers of people need treatment for breathing issues caused by vaping.
Researchers in California said popular e-cigarettes could "trigger dangerous damage to brain and heart".
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It was also suggested that vaping is as bad as cigarettes for reducing blood vessel function.
The were published Tuesday in Nature Communications.