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Study Links Vaping to Increased Heart Attack Risk

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Vaping has become a trend among young individuals and people generally assume it is safer than traditional cigarettes.  However, a recent study has found that it is linked to an increased heart attack risk. Vapers are more at risk of having a heart attack as compared to nonsmokers. Moreover, they are also at risk of suffering depression and developing coronary artery disease.

The Study

The study 1 Won Hee Lee, Sang-Ging Ong, Yang Zhou, Lei Tian, Hye Ryeong Bae, Natalie Baker, Adam Whitlatch, Leila Mohammadi, Hongchao Guo, Kari C. Nadeau, Matthew L. Springer, Suzaynn F. Schick, Aruni Bhatnagar, Joseph C. Wu Modeling Cardiovascular Risks of E-Cigarettes With Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell–Derived Endothelial Cells Journal of the American College of Cardiology Jun 2019, 73 (21) 2722-2737; DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2019.03.476 showed that e-cigarette users are at a 34% greater risk of having a heart attack and 25% more at risk of having a coronary artery disease.  They are also 55% more likely to develop anxiety or depression.

These connections are valid even after managing other cardiovascular risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, body mass index, sex, and age.

While researchers were not able to determine if this damage was done before the usage of e-cigarettes or was done due to vaping, they still believe it is a wakeup call for individuals who believe e-cigarettes are safe.

Researchers further found that no matter the frequency of vaping, whether occasionally or daily, vapers are still at a high risk of developing coronary artery disease and heart attack.  They are also likely to develop circulatory issues, diabetes, and blood pressure.

Young People Are at High Risk

Another study 2 American College of Cardiology. (2019, March 7). Heart attacks increasingly common in young adults: Youngest heart attack survivors have same likelihood of dying as survivors 10+ years older; substance abuse may be contributing to trend. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 4, 2019 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190307081026.htm found that while Americans are getting fewer heart attacks, the percentage has drastically increased among individuals younger than 40 years of age.  This indicates that young people are more at risk of a heart attack.

The results showed that 20% of individuals who suffered a heart attack were aged 40 or younger.  This percentage has increased by 2% every year in the past decade.

Many of the heart attack victims are in their 20s and 30s.  This was considered a rare occurrence a few decades ago.  These young individuals have similar risks of dying from a stroke or another heart attack just like elderly patients.

Even if an individual is in their 20s or 30s, after a heart attack, the risk of other cardiovascular issues is higher just like for other elderly patients.  For those of you who remember the actor Luke Perry from the 90s teen TV show “Beverly Hills 90210” and the more recent teen drama “Riverdale” based on the characters of Archie Comics, you’ll remember his massive stroke was shock to many.

Associated Risk Factors

Associated risk factors like high cholesterol, smoking, vaping, high blood pressure, and diabetes are the same among both younger and older individuals who had a heart attack.

While young individuals drink less alcohol as compared to people older than them, they are still likely to use other substances, like cocaine, marijuana and also frequently vape, believing it is safer than traditional cigarettes. 

Precautions to Take

In order to prevent heart attacks, and other health risks, it is essential to stop vaping, avoid tobacco, reduce alcohol intake, and maintain a healthy diet and regular exercise.  It is also important to manage your cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

You should also take preventive measures against diabetes since one out of five heart attack patients aged below 50 years are found to have diabetes.  Diabetics have a higher chance of experiencing another heart attack and dying from it as compared to other individuals.

It is therefore, highly recommended that you take preventive measures to improve and maintain your overall health.

Daylight Saving Time May Increase Risks Of Heart Attacks

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While daylight saving time might appear like a great way to save energy, research has not shown any clear results.  In fact, it actually has more negative consequences than benefits.  Recent studies have highlighted that clock changes increases the risk of heart attacks.  Slight sleep deprivation triggered by this time shift causes circadian misalignment, which increases the heart attack risks by almost 30%.

Clock Change Causes Heart Attacks

A recent paper1Manfredini, R., Fabbian, F., Cappadona, R. et al. Intern Emerg Med (2018) 13: 641. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-018-1900-4 written by the Universities of Ferrara and Florence in Italy, warned of the risk of biannual clock change, particularly during the first week of the time change.  According to the paper, for the majority of individuals, the tiredness caused by time change might seem like a small issue but for others, it can result in graver consequence.

Studies have highlighted the link between heart attacks and lack of sleep.  Less than six hours of sleep is associated with obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, and premature death.  Disrupted sleep leads to consumption of more calories and fewer calories burned.  Moreover, just one sleepless night is enough to enhance insulin resistance.

The research reviewed existing heart attacks and daylight saving time literature and found that the Monday after the time change has the most number of heart attacks.  The first day of the week is also a critical one for Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also referred to as “broken heart syndrome”.  This is a condition where the heart muscle suffers a temporary and sudden weakness, which is caused due to emotional stress, increased blood pressure, and higher levels of catecholamine, the fight-or-flight hormones.

What’s the Reason?

Human bodies prefer a longer day as compared to a shorter day.  The research referred to travelling numerous time zones, which cause the worse possible jet lag.  The same pattern has been associated with daylight time change transitions.

The circadian rhythm of the human body controls the sense of night and day, time to sleep, eat and more.  The same rhythm helps in regulating the metabolism to body organs, including the heart.  The change in time causes an imbalance in your body clock, especially in sensitive people.  Merely an hour of lost sleep might enhance stress levels, blood pressure, heart rate, as well as chemicals promoting inflammation.

Other Consequences of Daylight Saving Time

Another study2American Academy of Neurology (AAN). “Does daylight saving time increase risk of stroke?.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 February 2016. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160229220653.htm presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 68th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, April 15 – 21, 2016, found that there is an 8% increase in cases of ischemic stroke in the first two days of daylight clock change as compared to the two weeks before and two weeks after the time change.

The Universities of Washington and Virginia published a study3Cho, K., Barnes, C. M., & Guanara, C. L. (2017). Sleepy Punishers Are Harsh Punishers: Daylight Saving Time and Legal Sentences. Psychological Science, 28(2), 242–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616678437 which highlighted that the Monday after the daylight saving time switch, the legal sentences given out in courts were 5% longer as compared to the previous Monday and the following Monday.  This indicated that the time switch affected their sleep, making the judges less productive.

This was supported by research4Wagner, D. T., Barnes, C. M., Lim, V. K. G., & Ferris, D. L. (2012). Lost sleep and cyberloafing: Evidence from the laboratory and a daylight saving time quasi-experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(5), 1068-1076 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0027557. published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, stating that this time switch promotes productivity-draining endeavors, referred to as cyberloafing (surfing the net, checking personal emails on work time).  The same was true for undergraduate students who were found to engage in cyberloafing 8.4 minutes more than usual after time switch.

While all these results have been observational, they strongly indicate that daylight saving time is causing more harm than benefits.  The research highlighted that merely one day (Sunday), is not enough time for people to get accustomed to the time switch, making it harder on them for the rest of the week.