Vaping and Cartiovascular Disease - What will my Cardiologist Say?

[TuTu25]

Hey All,

So I'm a 47 years old who quit smoking cold turkey (After 35 years) and started vaping 7 weeks ago. I had a heart
attack 2 years ago and now have two stents. Of course my Cardiologist has wanted me to quit smoking since my episode and I did cut back, but I didn't quit until recently. So, what is my Doc going to say when I go see him this week for my four month follow up appointment? Will he be glad I quit analogs, but still be upset because I'm vaping now? Would like to hear from others who have heart disease and your experience since starting to vape. Honestly I feel great!

 

[Cavediver]

I have no relevant experience to share; I just wanted to say congrats on quitting and send some good karma your way for your upcoming appointment.

 

[Tmartin63]

TuTu, here is a post I made previously regarding my heart disease and vaping.

I have had 7 stents placed, 3 heart attacks and open heart surgery. I still smoked for about a year and half after surgery..dumb, stupid, etc..I know. But I found vaping in February 2012. Since then my cardiologist and family practitioner have found nothing wrong in any test I've had. Both know I vape and are extremely happy I finally quit smoking after 30 years. My blood pressure still tends to be a little on the high side when I go in (140/90), but everything else is perfect. They attribute that to "white coat syndrome" because at home I'm typically around 115/70. Chest X-ray's perfect, blood work perfect, stress test perfect. I always had some type of episode at lest once year after I turned 40, since the first of 2012 not once had an issue at all.

I have vaped 24mg since I started vaping and continue that today. I have purchased some 18 but really don't have desire to drop my nic level because I still crave the throat hit. I recently purchased some menthol juice to see if I can still achieve the throat hit. Only time will tell but right now I'm happy and healthy. Good luck in your journey

 

[jensy]

I think he will be so happy for you he will break out into song and dance. bwhahahahha so be prepared.

 

[jensy]

TuTu, here is a post I made previously regarding my heart disease and vaping.

I have had 7 stents placed, 3 heart attacks and open heart surgery. I still smoked for about a year and half after surgery..dumb, stupid, etc..I know. But I found vaping in February 2012. Since then my cardiologist and family practitioner have found nothing wrong in any test I've had. Both know I vape and are extremely happy I finally quit smoking after 30 years. My blood pressure still tends to be a little on the high side when I go in (140/90), but everything else is perfect. They attribute that to "white coat syndrome" because at home I'm typically around 115/70. Chest X-ray's perfect, blood work perfect, stress test perfect. I always had some type of episode at lest once year after I turned 40, since the first of 2012 not once had an issue at all.

I have vaped 24mg since I started vaping and continue that today. I have purchased some 18 but really don't have desire to drop my nic level because I still crave the throat hit. I recently purchased some menthol juice to see if I can still achieve the throat hit. Only time will tell but right now I'm happy and healthy. Good luck in your journey

WOW GOOD FOR YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (yes I am yelling it)

 

[Barbara21]

Well, nicotine (like caffeine) *is* a vasoconstrictor so it tends to raise blood pressure.

 

[wv2win]

Both my Internist and Cardiologist are supportive of vaping as a means to stop smoking. My Internist recommends it to his patients who still smoke. In case your cardiologist is "old school", I would suggest you go to the CASAA web site, join (it's free to join) and download the latest study on vaping from Drexel University to share with him.

We all need to educate ourselves on the many positive studies on vaping and share it with our doctors who are inundated with the lies that come from the Big Pharmaceutical companies and their funded mouth pieces, the ACS, AHA and ALA.

 

[Ken_A]

Watch this
http://www.youtube.com/JacIhBpjsjE
Then print this for your doctor, in case he doesn't like you vaping.

Presentation data: http://www.west-info.eu/files/Slides27.pdf
The conclusion of the study is on the last page

 

[CKCalmer]

In scenarios such as yours, I protect myself with a simple credibility check based on the principle that the onus is on the claimant to prove any claim that isn't already an axiom. Failure to prove a claim accompanied by a failure to retract or correct the claim means a loss of credibility for the person in question.

The next step is to consider risk profile. Level of risk determines the standard of credibility required. Most people with whom I deal have a low risk profile because their decisions have little to no potential to harm me. But if the person in question does have the ability to harm me or my family with his decisions, then he naturally has a higher risk profile, and in turn, must meet a higher standard of credibility.

Risk profile determines threshold of credibility.
Threshold of credibility determines level of credibility.
Level of credibility determines trustworthiness.​

If my doctor states that vaping will have a particular positive or negative effect on me, one with which I'm unaware, then I ask him to prove it. If he provides a source of evidence, I can verify it myself. If I am unable to do so, I ask for clarification. If I am still unable to verify the claim, or if he provides no evidence to support his claim at all, then he's not qualified to be my doctor and I let him go.

It has the added benefit of not requiring me to know everything about the topic at hand in order to confirm a person's credibility, and in turn, their trustworthiness. If I'm going to try to confirm the claim myself by the evidence provided, then I can also increase my education on the matter.

(It was all too much to remember at first when dealing with people I didn't already know, but now it comes naturally and almost without a thought.)

This is your doctor, a person with a naturally higher risk profile than others in your life. If he makes any claim(s), verify his claim(s). If he fails the verification, then replace him.
(I know this is simplistic advice. "If you can't confirm his credibility, then dump him." But it's the best I can come up with at the moment.)

 

[Exchaner]

Watch this
http://www.youtube.com/JacIhBpjsjE
Then print this for your doctor, in case he doesn't like you vaping.

Presentation data: http://www.west-info.eu/files/Slides27.pdf
The conclusion of the study is on the last page

The link to the video did not work, but a cursory look at the report clearly indicates it is very "unscientific". I hate to be a party pooper, but While it is true that vaping is the safer alternative, it has several draw-backs of its own. To start with, although Nicotine is not a carcinogen, it does something to cells that makes them susceptible to cancer....(From a study by none other than the Cancer Institute) Nicotine has also been linked to emphysema and gum disease in various other studies. Tobacco leaves from which nicotine is derived, carry deadly chemicals from the fertilizers used to grow them. And last but not leasts, many of the chemicals that go into the liquids we vape are unknown. Some of them were made for cooking, not vaping. Some contain diacetyl, acetoine, and other deadly compounds. I probably will get a lot of negative reactions for my remarks, but hey, it's a free country and talking is free.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

The only difficulty a cardiologist might have with vaping is if you are still using nicotine, which as others have said is a vasoconstrictor. Folks with cardiac problems generally do best if we can keep the pressure lower to ease the stress on those vessels that are narrowed or have been operated on. The best thing would be if you could gradually titrate your nic down. Some folks seems to be very sensitive if the nicotine is lowered, others don't notice much at all. It is one of the mysterious nuances of nicotine "addiction" and also can be a difference noticed between vaping and smoking (some smokers seem to lose much of their nicotine dependency when they start vaping, others still report having it). Very weird. The reason I bring it up is that you should not assume you would have a difficult time lowering your nic. Nevertheless, a gradual change is usually the easiest. Congrats, regardless. By vaping, you are allowing your hemoglobin to carry more helpful oxygen, rather than the deadly carbon monoxide they tend to carry when you smoke. That alone is huge for your cardiovascular system. Best wishes!

 

[ppeeble]

48, smoked 35 yrs, heart attack 18 months ago, 1 stent fitted (woo hoo)....
Vaping 18mg juice for a year and a half now and watching my BP go down on a monthly basis.
More energy and easier breathing than i can remember.
I didn't discuss vaping with my cardiologist simply because i did not trust her to know enough about it to give me an informed response.

I will give myself another year before trying to ease off on the vaping and count myself lucky that the option to vape was there for me.
I also consider vaping as a hobby as much as an addiction. I genuinely believe that de-stressing is crucial in keeping your body as healthy as possible. Having a vaping hobby works for me.
The bottom line is no-one is going to tell you that vaping is good for you. A medically qualified (and open to negligence claims) person is certainly not going to encourage you to vape.
Make an informed decision and decide for yourself whether inhaling vapor is helping you to remain less stressed versus the potential for harm it may bring. Good luck.

 

[wv2win]

The link to the video did not work, but a cursory look at the report clearly indicates it is very "unscientific". I hate to be a party pooper, but While it is true that vaping is the safer alternative, it has several draw-backs of its own. To start with, although Nicotine is not a carcinogen, it does something to cells that makes them susceptible to cancer....(From a study by none other than the Cancer Institute) Nicotine has also been linked to emphysema and gum disease in various other studies. Tobacco leaves from which nicotine is derived, carry deadly chemicals from the fertilizers used to grow them. And last but not leasts, many of the chemicals that go into the liquids we vape are unknown. Some of them were made for cooking, not vaping. Some contain diacetyl, acetoine, and other deadly compounds. I probably will get a lot of negative reactions for my remarks, but hey, it's a free country and talking is free.

You make many statements and back none of it up, especially the comments on nicotine. I believe both my Internist and Cardiologist would have cautioned me about the level of nicotine I use if it caused cancer. (which it doesn't). And I doubt the FDA would have not stated it was OK to use NRT products indefinitely if there were a true cancer link. (although who knows with the FDA).

So yes, many of us respond negatively to comments that have a high ignorance quotient and no support, as yours do.

 

[Robino1]

If you have access to the date a study was conducted, check it because early studies were done on cigarettes and smoking. Tobacco smoking and nicotine were interchangeable terms in those early studies. In other words, when the term nicotine was used, they were actually referring to cigarettes.

 

[Exchaner]

You make many statements and back none of it up, especially the comments on nicotine. I believe both my Internist and Cardiologist would have cautioned me about the level of nicotine I use if it caused cancer. (which it doesn't). And I doubt the FDA would have not stated it was OK to use NRT products indefinitely if there were a true cancer link. (although who knows with the FDA).

So yes, many of us respond negatively to comments that have a high ignorance quotient and no support, as yours do.

I have posted my sources in another thread and will post them here again as soon as I gather them up. (In the meantime check WebMd for the study on lung cancer.) I am skeptical however of changing anyone's mind because nicotine and vaping to some people is like a religion. They believe in it without question and automatically reject anything to the contrary. You appear to be one of them - calling people ignorant just because their view point doesn't match yours.... Get an education. There is a lot of misinformation being spread on the ECF primarily by the Vaping interests for obvious reasons.... And BTW as long as you are asking others to quote their sources, perhaps you should start doing the same - who is your cardiologist, and whose payroll is he on?

 

[Exchaner]

Here is one of the studies I was referring to. It was conducted by the Cancer Institute; indicates nicotine is a cancer ACCELATOR:

NCI Statement on Nicotine Study in January JCI - National Cancer Institute

 

[Exchaner]

Here is another article on the harmful effects of deadly fertilizers used in growing tobacco - the source of nicotine we are inhaling.

Radioactive tobacco | Department of Nuclear Engineering

 

[Deeo]

I don't have heart disease but I found my doctor was more excepting of the ecig when I referred it as my NRT. I just read these post and hearing of others with heart disease doing better vaping, I would hope that if your doctor is negative about the ecig that you don't fall into that trap. The prove is right here that yes there is a risk but others in the same boat as you are doing well!

 

[cbrite]

Here is a study from NIH primarily directed at NRT products that seems to disagree with you, Ex.


Does nicotine replacement therapy cause cancer? Evidence from the Lung Health Study


"In one animal study, rats breathed in a chamber with nicotine at a concentration twice that found in the plasma concentration of heavy smokers (Waldum et al., 1996). Nicotine was given for 20 hr a day, 5 days a week over a 2-year period. The authors found no increase in mortality or frequency of tumors in these rats compared with controls. Specifically, there were neither microscopic nor macroscopic lung tumors nor any increase in pulmonary neuroendocrine cells. Thus, even long-term exposure to inhaled nicotine at relatively high doses does not appear to have a carcinogenic effect."

 

[Exchaner]

Here is a study from NIH primarily directed at NRT products that seems to disagree with you, Ex.


Does nicotine replacement therapy cause cancer? Evidence from the Lung Health Study

Aren't these studies talking about nicotine patches (replacement therapy)? They use minuscule amounts of Nic; of course they do not cause cancer.