Your P.A. is misinformed. There is no legitimate research that indicates nicotine causes cardio-vascular disease, including hardening of the arteries or plaque build up. None, nada, zip. If there were, the anti-nicotine zealots would be shouting it from the rafters. Nicotine is a vaso-constrictor. So is caffeine. Any vaso-constrictor can be harmful for people with existing vascular disease.
Nicotine also increases blood pressure because it is a vaso-constrictor. If you have heart or vascular disease, anything that increases your b.p. can be dangerous. That includes sex, coffee, stress, vigorous exercise and spirited debates.
The only detrimental effect of nicotine that has been reasonably proven is that it constricts blood vessels, which may or may not raise your b.p. to a degree and for a period of time that may or may not be harmful. The degree of harm this causes is dependent on your cardio-vascular health. There is also some evidence that nicotine may feed the blood supply of already existing tumors.
There is some very recent research that tentatively indicate that nicotine may affect the inner lining of the arteries in such a way that it allows increased plaque build up. This evidence is, according to the researchers, preliminary and tentative. If this is what your PA was referring to to back up her statement, she is being irresponsible. Nobody is claiming that it is definite evidence, or even strong evidence. It's certainly nothing that should be used to justify misinforming a patient.
Despite what people, vapers and non-vapers alike, would like to believe, all evidence indicates that nicotine is relatively benign and may even be beneficial in some respects, increasing alertness, memory and cognitive ability. It has shown to be useful for people with ADHD , Parkinsons and dementia. There is no evidence that it is any more harmful to otherwise healthy people than caffeine. All the evidence that indicates the contrary has been done with nicotine in conjunction with tobacco smoke, never in isolation. It's hard to believe that a P.A. is unaware of this. Perhaps she's been overly influenced by the anti-nicotine, anti-tobacco zealots. If she was a real doctor, I'd suggest you find another doctor. It just goes to show that no one is immune to propaganda.
(see Ambeck's post at #7 above).
