E-cigarettes also cause the blood to clump

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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E-cigarettes are considered a less dangerous alternative to their tobacco-containing counterparts. This is probably not wrong: after all, the consumer inhales hundreds of harmful and carcinogenic substances less than through tobacco smoke.

The emphasis here, however, is on “less” - because the steamers are not harmless either. This is once again indicated by a study by the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.

The researchers led by Gustaf Lyytinen observed that the consumption of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes directly stimulates the formation of blood clots. In addition, the ability of small blood vessels to expand and expand decreases. Heart rate and blood pressure also increase through the consumption of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, the researchers reported at the international congress of the European Respiratory Society.

Effects similar to those of tobacco cigarettes

There are similar effects that occur when smoking conventional cigarettes - and that can lead to a heart attack or stroke if consumed over a long period of time.

The scientists had conducted experiments with a group of 22 women and men between the ages of 18 and 45 who smoked occasionally but were healthy.

Each subject was examined before and after 30 puffs from a nicotine-containing e-cigarette and before and after 30 puffs from a nicotine-free e-cigarette. These two series of tests were carried out in different situations with an interval of at least one week.

Each time, the researchers measured the volunteers' heart rate and blood pressure and took a blood sample before they inhaled e-cigarette vapor. Further checks were made after 15 and 60 minutes.

Constricted blood vessels

The researchers also tested how the e-vapor affected blood flow in the body's tiny blood vessels. After inhaling the nicotine vapor, the small blood vessels narrowed and the blood pressure climbed from an average of 108 mmHg to an average of 117 mmHg. The heart rate also increased from an average of 66 to 73 beats per minute.

15 minutes after the vapor treatment, the number of small blood clots increased by 23 percent and only returned to normal after 60 minutes.Nicotine is known to increase levels of hormones such as adrenaline in the body, which in turn can encourage blood clots to form.

If the test subjects vaped e-cigarettes without nicotine, the negative effects were absent.

Risk of blood clots increases

"This study suggests that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can lead to the formation of blood clots and impair the adaptability of small blood vessels," said Prof. Jonathan Grigg of Queen Mary University of London, Chair of the European Respiratory Society's Committee on Tobacco Control was not involved in the study.

However, it is a small study, "so we would like to see more research on these effects."

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