- Vaping: The mysterious epidemic caused by electronic cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes also hit the heart. That is the conclusion of two independent studies that have just been presented in the scientific sessions that the American Heart Association is holding in Philadelphia (USA).
Specifically, these works show that these products decrease cardiac blood flow and negatively affect - and similar to conventional tobacco - some of the known cardiovascular risk factors, such as cholesterol .
In the first of these works, the researchers compared the levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose in healthy non-smoking adults, electronic cigarette smokers, conventional tobacco smokers and dual smokers (they used both traditional tobacco and vapers). All individuals (476) were healthy, were between the ages of 21 and 45 and did not take any medication daily.
When analyzing the data, the researchers verified that there were certain peculiarities associated with the consumption of electronic cigarettes. Thus, these individuals had higher levels of LDL , also called bad cholesterol and lower levels than the rest of the total cholesterol levels.
On the other hand, HDL levels, the so-called good cholesterol , were also lower in the group of participants who consumed both conventional tobacco and electronic cigarettes.
"Although healthcare professionals and patients may think that the use of electronic cigarettes by smokers may have benefits from the point of view of cardiac health, our study shows that the use of electronic cigarettes is also related to differences in levels of cholesterol, "said Sana Majid, a researcher at the Boston University School of Medicine and the main signatory of the work. "The best option to quit smoking is to use FDA-approved methods [the drug regulatory agency in the US], along with behavioral advice," he added.
The second study shows that coronary vascular dysfunction associated with the consumption of electronic cigarettes could be more serious than that observed with conventional cigarettes.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed cardiac blood flow, an indicator of coronary vascular function, in 19 young smokers. They measured this value both before and after smoking electronic cigarettes or conventional tobacco by means of a myocardial contrast echocardiography, which evaluated their function at rest and when subjected to physiological stress (through strength exercises).
What the scientists observed was an especially damaging effect of e-cigarettes. "In traditional cigarette smokers, blood flow increased moderately after inhalation of a traditional cigarette and then decreased with subsequent stress. However, in e-cigarette consumers, blood flow decreased after inhalation. at rest and after the stress of grip strength exercises, "he said in a statement distributed by the American Heart Association Florian Rader, the main signatory of the work. "These results indicate that the use of electronic cigarettes is associated with persistent coronary vascular dysfunction at rest , even in the absence of physiological stress," he stressed.
Meanwhile, Susan Cheng, a researcher at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and also a signatory of the research, was surprised by the results and added that "professionals who advise patients on the use of nicotine products will want to consider the possibility that electronic cigarettes can cause as much damage or even more to users and, above all, to patients at risk of vascular disease. "
These two studies are not the only recent warning about the risks associated with new ways of smoking. A little over a month ago, the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) recalled that the use of electronic cigarettes and vaping devices "is not harmless . "
"They contain toxic and harmful substances for health and should not be used," said Carlos A. Jiménez-Ruiz, president of SEPAR, who recalled that in the US there have been "about 200 cases in 22 different states of an unknown respiratory disease of non-infectious origin "among consumers of electronic cigarettes.
"From SEPAR we want to inform the general population that the use of these devices is harmful to health, and warn that the existing scientific evidence regarding electronic cigarettes so far does not allow us to know what their effects will be in the medium or long term, without we can rule out that new pathological processes , such as the one currently being suffered by some vapers in the United States, may appear, "Jiménez-Ruiz added.
Also from the Observatory of the Profession, an organ that brings together the College of Physicians, College of Pharmacists, College of Physiotherapists and College of Dentists and Stomatologists of the Community of Madrid, has recently launched the campaign 'Do you really think this does not harm your health? ' , whose objective is to inform the population about the real danger involved in the use of electronic nicotine release devices.
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