According to a study, smoking an electronic cigarette exposes you to a serious health problem. Experts warn about the dangers of e-cigs.
Until not very long ago, “vaping” with an electronic cigarette seemed like a healthier – or at least less harmful – alternative to the classic one using burnt tobacco. More recent research, however, has drawn a decidedly less reassuring veil over a practice that appears less safe than was thought a few years ago.
For example, the WHO’s clear stance against electronic cigarettes dates back to December last year. The World Health Organization has been quite firm in to define “harmful products” vaping devices, regarding which more and more alarming evidence is emerging on the negative effects on human health.
Recently, to give another practical example, electronic cigarettes (or e-cigs) have been associated with a higher risk of nose cancer and other pathologies. And now, to further fuel concerns, comes a new and large prospective study that highlights a serious and common health problem linked to electronic cigarettes. Let’s see what it’s about.
E-cigarette: the link to a serious and widespread health problem
The alarm was raised by research presented during the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. The study on the health risks of e-cigarettes was carried out by a US research team led by experts from MedStar Health, a non-profit health organization based in Baltimore (Maryland) and manages several hospitals.
The US study shows that the use of electronic cigarettes is associated with a significant risk of develop heart failure (or heart failure), a serious dysfunction that compromises the correct functioning of the heart, which thus struggles to pump blood into the body (due to its own weakness or due to a reduced contractile capacity). Vapers are more likely to suffer from heart failure.
More specifically, the results of the research – which involved over 175,000 participants – show that those who vaped presented a 19% higher risk of contracting this disease. In particular, a statistical correlation emerged between the use of e-cigarettes and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction or HfpEF (which represents approximately half of cases of heart failure). This is a condition in which the heart muscle becomes stiff and is no longer able to adequately fill with blood between contractions.
