Can you get a blood clot from vaping? According to new research, you can. Nicotine-laden e-cigarettes raise a user’s risk of blood clots, damage small blood vessels and can also raise heart rate and blood pressure, a new study finds.
The effects are similar to those caused by traditional cigarettes, and raise the concern that long-term vaping could help cause heart attacks or strokes, the Swedish research team warns.
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“Our results suggest that using e-cigarettes that contain nicotine have similar impacts on the body as smoking traditional cigarettes,” study author Gustaf Lyytinen, a clinician at Helsingborg Hospital and researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm says.
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“This effect on blood clots is important because we know that in the long-term this can lead to clogged-up and narrower blood vessels, and that, of course, puts people at risk of heart attacks and strokes,” Lyytinen explains in a society news release.
One U.S. expert wasn’t surprised by the new findings.
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Nicotine, whether it’s found in traditional or electronic cigarettes “can lead to heart attack and stroke,” Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City says. “Another reason why e-cigarettes should not be thought of as safer than cigarettes.”
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In the new study, Lyytinen’s team conducted experiments with 22 women and men aged 18-45 who were occasional smokers but otherwise healthy.
Participants were tested before and after taking 30 puffs from an e-cigarette containing nicotine, and before and after 30 puffs from an e-cigarette without nicotine. The two tests were conducted on separate occasions, at least one week apart. On each occasion, the researchers measured heart rate and blood pressure and collected a blood sample before the volunteers used the e-cigarettes, then 15 minutes after use and again 60 minutes after use.
Puffing on e-cigarettes containing nicotine led to immediate short-term changes in the volunteers, including an average
