The Effect of Vaping on Your Cardiovascular Health
It is no longer a secret that smoking is dangerous to health. Persistentsmoking affects many vital organs in the body. These include the lungs and the heart. However, with the introduction of vaping, smokers seem to have got a less dangerous alternative. Many shifted from smoking to vaping. Some smokers also used vaping as a way to quit smoking. But how reasonable is this decision? Is vaping a safe practice? How does vaping affect cardiovascular health? This article will answer all these questions and more. But first, what exactly is vaping?
What is Vaping?
Vaping involves inhaling aerosol to simulate the effect of smoking. Aerosol is just like a vapor, except that it also has some fine solid particles or particulate matter dissolved in it. To get aerosol, the e-liquid is heated to the gaseous form, also containing fine particles in the vaping device. This vapor-like substance, when inhaled, can produce effects similar to smoking. That is why vape is usually regarded as an e-cigarette. However, vaping can also mimic the effects of other substances like marijuana and CBD.
The liquid used for vaping contains different chemical substances. These include preservatives and other substances that simulate the effect of conventional smoking. As an e-cigarette, there will be nicotine, although it is way lower than the nicotine quantity found in the conventional cigarette. However, some do not contain any amount of nicotine which makes them non-addictive. Obviously, nicotine is responsible for the major addictive effect of cigarettes.
Vaping is relatively new, and little is still known about it. Although there has been much research on it recently and many studies are still ongoing to unravel more details about its use and effect. Effects of smoking on the heart and lungs usually take many years to manifest. Hence we may still have to wait for a decade before confirming the impact of vaping on the population. Notwithstanding, let’s discuss what has been established or confirmed so far.
Does Vaping Affect Your Health?
The answer is definitely yes. Vaping has many ill effects on health. These include the following:
It Retards Brain Development:
Brain development starts from pregnancy and continues until around 25 years. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that vaping could retard the development of certain parts of the brain if practiced by people under the age of 25. Unfortunately, the National Youth Tobacco Survey result of 2018 shows that some 3.6 million high school and middle school children in the United States engaged in vaping.
Damage to the DNA:
Vaping can lead to oxidative stress and cell dysfunction. Research shows its effect can also extend to damaging of the DNA.
It Can Cause Cancer:
There is no concrete evidence that vaping can lead to cancer, but preliminary studies show that distortion to the DNA in body cells caused by vaping can lead to mutation and consequently result in cancer over a long time.
Oral effects:
Many dental problems had been linked to vaping. This includes damage to the oral cavity, periodontal diseases, cavities or tooth decay, oral infection, gum inflammation, and oral irritation.
Lung Disease:
Many studies on the effects of vaping on the lungs are still ongoing as nicotine effects on the lungs may take up to 20 years to manifest. However, many experts believe that vaping with or without nicotine can affect the normal functioning of the lungs and the respiratory system.
Cardiovascular Diseases:
Like the lungs, it will still take many more years to fully understand how vaping affects the heart and other cardiovascular organs. But there are strong pieces of evidence that it can cause high blood pressure, increased heart rate, stroke, and heart attack.
We will discuss further how it does affect the heart.
How Vaping Affects Cardiovascular Health
Vaping can be with or without nicotine. Vaping with nicotine is addictive, just as in conventional smoking and may have similar health effects. Even without nicotine, studies so far have shown many similarities between smokers and vapers. E-liquids usually have oxidizing agents and aldehydes. Both substances have adverse effects on the heart. When you vape, your heart rate will increase, so will your blood pressure. Prolonged high blood pressure can lead to hypertension, heart attack, and heart failure.
Vaping can also increase the stiffness of the arteries. This can consequently affect the capillaries, making the heart work harder while pumping blood and then get weakened. If it is not corrected on time, it may increase the chance of heart failure.
Vaping also affects the coronary artery. A study reveals that it increases the risk of coronary artery disease by 25 percent. Coronary artery disease is the major cause of heart failure.
So, is there any advantage in changing from smoking to vaping on heart health?
Comparing Vaping and Smoking
The primary reason people vape is to avoid smoking. Unfortunately, there is no evidence to suggest that one is better than the other for the heart. The fact that we still need to wait for years to fully understand the effects of vaping makes it even more dangerous. Several studies have been done to compare the effect of it with or without nicotine to the effect of smoking. Most of them show that both actions have similar dangerous effects on the heart and other body organs.
Is it true that electronic cigarettes are safer than traditional cigarettes? While the safety of e-cigarettes has yet to be proven, they are commonly viewed as a safer alternative to cigarettes, with the NHS noting that they are “surely the lesser of two evils.”
Although e-cigarettes may also contain some harmful substances not present in traditional cigarettes. Traditional cigarette smoke contains far more harmful compounds, including tar, benzene, cadmium, and arsenic, many of which can cause cancer.
The US Food and Drug Administration discovered that e-cigarettes contain trace levels of carcinogenic substances like nitrosamines and formaldehyde, although at significantly lower amounts than cigarettes.
Nicotine, a highly addictive substance, which is found in both e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes, raises the risk of artery narrowing and can lead to heart diseases.
However, it is important to note that most vapers were once smokers. Hence the results of the research on vaping effects might have been the effects of conventional smoking. Only a few people start their interest in tobacco from vaping.
Many people also smoke and vape. Many studies show that they are more at risk than those who only smoke or only vape.
We Can Help You
Changing from smoking to vaping may not be the best solution to a smoking addiction or preventing cardiovascular diseases. However, if you need help concerning your heart health, we can help you. Our team consists of top medical professionals who specialize in treating different heart conditions. We also offer professional advice and support. Therefore, do not suffer in silence. Contact us today for all health-related assistance, and we will be happy to help you.
Conclusion
Vaping involves heating liquid to vapour coupled with some fine particles and then inhaling it. It simply refers to making use of e-cigarettes as opposed to conventional cigarette smoking. The primary aim is to stimulate or mimic the effects of smoking. It is usually done as an alternative to smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products. But it can also be an alternative to smoking marijuana or CBD oil. Vaping liquid may contain nicotine and may not. Vapers believe it is safer than smoking. Unfortunately, many studies show otherwise especially considering its effect on the heart.
Vaping has many ill effects on the heart. It can increase the heart rate and blood pressure. It can increase the risk of coronary artery disease and can also make arteries stiffer and narrower. All these can consequently increase the risk of heart attack and heart failure.
Other effects include retarding the development of some parts of the brain, increased risk of lung diseases, damage to the DNA, and oral problems. Although it may still take many years before the effects of vaping on the heart and lungs become fully understood, there is no doubt it is dangerous to health.
