New Study Examines How Vaping Affects Vascular Recovery After Heart Attack

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PASADENA, Calif. — January 20, 2024 — A new study led by Dr. Robert A. Kloner, Chief Science Officer and Scientific Director of Cardiovascular Research at Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI), investigates how electronic-cigarette (E-cig) vaping influences cardiac and vascular healing following a heart attack.

Published in Cardiovascular Toxicology, the paper — “Effects of Electronic Cigarette Vaping on Cardiac and Vascular Function, and Post-Myocardial Infarction Remodeling in Rats” — evaluates the long-term cardiovascular effects of nicotine-containing vapor during the recovery phase after myocardial infarction (MI).

The study, authored by Wangde Dai, Jianru Shi, Prabha Siddarth, Juan Carreno, Michael T. Kleinman, David A. Herman, Rebecca J. Arechavala, Samantha Renusch, Irene Hasen, Amanda Ting, and Robert A. Kloner, exposed rats to either purified air or E-cig vapor for 12 weeks following coronary artery ligation.

Key findings include:

  • E-cig exposure impaired vascular recovery, with reduced peak blood flow and narrower femoral artery diameter during reperfusion.

  • No significant differences were observed in heart size, infarct expansion, or left-ventricular systolic function between vaping and air-exposed groups.

  • Overall, vaping altered vascular function without worsening post-MI cardiac remodeling.

“These results suggest that even when cardiac function appears preserved, chronic vaping can subtly compromise vascular health during recovery from myocardial injury,” said Dr. Kloner.

The study adds to a growing body of evidence from HMRI researchers examining the cardiovascular effects of electronic cigarettes and nicotine exposure.

Full article: Cardiovascular Toxicology, January 2024