E-cigarettes are not as safe as people think.
In a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal BMC Public HealthResearchers studied the association between electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use and the risk of myocardial infarction (MI, also called heart attack) as well as stroke.
For decades, smoking has been recognized as a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, hypertension and stroke.
In response, the tobacco industry introduced electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), commonly known as electronic cigarettes or “vapes”, and promoted them as harm reduction tools to help quit smoking.
The present study addressed this gap using a systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) conducted in accordance with the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
Conventional smoking was treated as a key confounder and subgroup variable.
The analysis showed that people who used e-cigarettes had a 53% greater risk of MI than non-users.
Notably, among former cigarette smokers who currently use e-cigarettes, the risk of heart attack was more than doubled.
These findings raise concerns about the cardiovascular safety of e-cigarettes and indicate that they should not be considered risk-free alternatives, particularly to cigarettes.
This systematic review suggests that e-cigarette use is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction, particularly in people with a history of smoking.
Although exclusive vaping among nonsmokers was not associated with statistically significant cardiovascular risk in this analysis, the elevated risk observed among former smokers raises concerns about the use of e-cigarettes as a harm reduction tool.
