E-cigarette use accelerates effects of cardiovascular aging

A new study suggests that a single exposure to e-cigarette (e-cig) vapor may be enough to impair vascular function. Researchers from West Virginia University will present findings today at the Cardiovascular Aging: New Frontiers and Old Friends meeting in Westminster, Colo.

The researchers studied artery diameter, the blood vessels' ability to widen (vasodilation) and aortic stiffness in female mice after short- and long-term exposure to flavored e-cig vapor. Aortic stiffness is an age-related complication in the heart's main artery (aorta) that can be an indicator of cardiovascular disease. They found that within an hour of the five-minute e-cig exposure, the short-term group's narrowed by approximately 30 percent. Vasodilation decreased as well.

Long-term exposure to e-cig (20 hours per week over a period of eight months) also produced negative effects of chronic e-cig use, including , which was more than twice as high as control groups exposed to normal room air. "These data indicate that e-cigs should not be considered safe and that they induce significant deleterious effects" on blood vessel function, wrote the authors.

Citation: E-cigarette use accelerates effects of cardiovascular aging (2017, August 14) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-08-e-cigarette-effects-cardiovascular-aging.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Can the antioxidant resveratrol reduce artery stiffness in diabetics?

0 shares

Feedback to editors