E-cigarettes are currently among the most widely used devices for smoking in the one decade market. While most users’ vaping is considered least dangerous than continuing smoking, health risks regarding the activity are increasing. Of these areas that have been raised, the most concern has been raised on the effects of e-cigarettes on high blood pressure. Scroll down below to learn the relationship between vaping and heart health, risks, and how it may affect your cardiovascular system.
What are E-Cigarettes?
Also known as e-cigs, electronic cigarettes or vapes – they are battery-driven gadgets that heat up nicotine and other additives to produce smoke. E-cigarettes: are not old stlye burn tobacco cigarettes; e-cigarettes use a solution (sometimes called ‘e-juice’) which generally contains nicotine, flavourings and other components. When the device heats up the liquid, the vapor which is formed is inhaled by the user of the product. Another type of heater is one that comes through a battery powered atomizer system.
E-cigarettes come in a variety of forms, including:
- Cigalikes: These look like ordinary cigarettes and can be used only once each in many cases.
- Vape Pens: These are much larger than cigalikes and include rechargeable power source being a feature of the device.
- Mods: These are variable devices which can be set in terms of vapor output as well as other characteristics to be managed as used.
Understanding High Blood Pressure
In a detailed profession on how use of e-cigarettes affects blood pressure, it is always important to know what hypertension entails. Blood pressure is pressure of blood on the walls of arteries at the moment when the heart ejects blood. It’s measured in two numbers: systolic – it means the pressure when the heart beats; diastolic – it is the pressure when the heart is relaxed.
If left unresolved, despite the fact that some of the symptoms may go unnoticed, high blood pressure does have adverse impact on arteries, heart as well as other organs. This one has been referred to as the ‘silent killer’ because the ill health that it brings upon the body often shows few visible symptoms including heart diseases and stroke.
The Nicotine Factor: E-Cigarettes and Blood Pressure
Among the additives, nicotine is most likely one of the most famous materials used in electronic cigarettes; this material is a stimulant that increases blood pressure and heart rate. Here’s how nicotine affects your cardiovascular system:
- Increased Heart Rate: After that, nicotine reduces the adrenergic affects and makes the heart speed up. If your heart rate rises, the heart pounds harder on the artery walls and gives rise to hypertension.
- Vasoconstriction: The main chemical found in tobacco is nicotine and vasoconstriction which narrows blood vessels. In this case if the arteries constrict the blood pressure rises because the heart is compelled to pump blood through these constricted veins.
- Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System: It also activates the points of the sympathetic nerve like the nicotine “fight or flight”. This activation can raise blood pressure at some point especially during pressure or when doing some activity on the bodily structure.
- Long-Term Effects: However, if one is a regular consumer of tobacco, then such effects become long term by straining the heart muscles hence high blood pressure, heart disease and stoke among others.
Studies Linking E-Cigarettes and High Blood Pressure
Several studies have investigated the connection between e-cigarette use and high blood pressure:
- Short-Term Increases in Blood Pressure: A few of the other related researches show how vaping raises blood pressure for a while just like smoking does. A survey published in the US Journal the Journal of the American Heart Association demonstrated that within its short duration healthy teenagers and young adults, showed signs of raised pressure as soon as they vaped the e-cigarette.
- Nicotine-Containing E-Cigarettes vs. Nicotine-Free: Different research studies have noted that e-cigarettes with nicotine cause a more adverse effect on blood pressure than the e-cigarettes without it. For instance, in one of its research done on nicotine containing vaping e-liquids, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the patients who used the product in comparison to the patients who vaped nicotine free solutions.
- Long-Term Cardiovascular Effects: More and more cross sectional studies were conducted and there have been concerns for the effect of e-cigarettes to the cardiovascular system in the long run. In a research done by European Journal of Preventive Cardiology it was done that the first time users of e-cigarettes are at higher risk to develop hypertension than non – users even when controlled with possible confounding factors such as age and weight.
Other Components in E-Cigarettes That May Affect Blood Pressure
While nicotine is the most well-known culprit, other components of e-cigarettes may also play a role in increasing blood pressure:
- Flavorings: Majority of the e-liquids have chemical flavoring agents which has some consequences if inhaled. This work points of the fact that these chemicals could cause inflammation of the blood vessels hence raising the blood pressure after sometime.
- Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin: These two are two of the most common base chemical used in making of the e-liquid used in creating the vapor. As a rule they are known to be edible but as for the consequences of inhaling any compounds of this kind that is yet to be researched. Several works have declared that they can cause irritation of the respiratory system and inflammation and stress of the cardiovascular system.
- Heavy Metals: When in use, the heat produced within the device raised the likelihood of moving heavy metals such as lead, nickel and chromium from the coil of the device to the vapor. Different studies showed that pollution by heavy metals raised hypertension and other cardiovascular related diseases.
The Impact of Vaping on Youth and Young Adults
It is noteworthy that two matter that people are most concerned about are use by YA and perpetration of e-cigarette. Altogether, one makes a conclusion that adolescents’ exposure to nicotine negatively influences their cardiovascular health in the future – Tape Delivery January,,. Teenagers’ brain is underdeveloped and it is a fact that nicotine consumption increases the risk of high blood pressure and other problems related to heart in future.
Vaping vs. Traditional Smoking: A Comparison
One of the groups of users may argue that using electronic cigarettes is safer than regularly smoking cigarettes. Vaping also cannot be without risks although they are not as bad as exposure to the various poisonous substances documented in tobacco smoke. That is while ordinary smoking as well as vaping expose the consumer to nicotine that raises blood pressure.
Here’s a quick comparison:
Health Factor | E-Cigarettes | Traditional Cigarettes |
Nicotine Content | Varies; can be adjusted | Consistent high levels |
Chemical Exposure | Fewer toxic chemicals | Over 7,000 chemicals, many toxic |
Short-Term Blood Pressure Effects | Yes, nicotine causes spike | Yes, nicotine causes spike |
Long-Term Cardiovascular Risks | Still being studied | Well-established risks |
Vaping and Heart Disease: An Emerging Link
In addition to hypertension,other active research investigations have also identified that use of e-cigarette increases the risk of heart diseases. The scientists at University of Kansas said in a finding that regular use of e-cigarettes have a 56 percent likelihood of causing heart attack as compared to users. This risk with what we already know about the impact of high blood pressure on the heart, makes vaping an even bigger issue for the heart.
How to Mitigate the Risks
If you’re concerned about the effects of vaping on your blood pressure, there are several steps you can take:
- Switch to Nicotine-Free E-Cigarettes: If you are using e cigarettes in order to quit smoking you should switch to cig-a-lets that are nicotine free. It is probably going to help in reducing the chances of hypertension without diminishing the feeling of vaping.
- Monitor Your Blood Pressure: Vape users must ensure that it becomes second nature for them to go have their blood pressure checked. They screened hypertension whereby at a certain stage it still can be managed without having the long-term impacts.
- Reduce or Quit: Doctors advise that, perhaps the best way to protect your heart is to reduce usage of e-cigarettes or better still, stop using them all together. The ways tender through which the patient may be helped to quit include: Nicotine replacement products Counseling
- Exercise and Diet: Besides, physical activity and a healthy diet can also help protect the dignity of hypotensive action when vaping.
Conclusion: Should You Be Concerned About E-Cigarettes and Blood Pressure?
The evidence is clear: Now, more so with the electronic cigarettes which can raise the BP for the short-term and the long-term impact of ecigs on the cardio-vascular system remain to be seen. Despite the irony on awesome and the potential that the site has, little or no information has been written on the dangers of using it, but it is important for the users of the site to be informed of that. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor so it raises blood pressure and the ingredients in the e-cigarette liquid also produce inflammation and other manifestations of toxicity to the heart and blood vessels.
If you are among the e-cigarette users then it is high time that you started taking note of / observing yourself so as to reduce the effects of this substance. This kind of disease can be prevented through refraining from using products that contain nicotine and by going for frequent checks on one’s blood pressure in addition to exercising a healthy way of life.