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DALLAS — People who use e-cigarettes face an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and coronary heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.
In what’s believed to be the largest study to date examining e-cigarettes and stroke, researchers pulled data on 400,000 respondents from a nationally-representative survey taken in 2016. They found that 3.2% of all American adults reported using e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days, as well as 11.3% of American high school students used e-cigarettes.
E-cigarette use in the U.S. among young people increased by a stunning 900% between 2011 and 2015.
“Compared with non-users, e-cigarette users were younger, had a lower body mass index and a lower rate of diabetes,” notes study author Dr. Paul M. Ndunda, an assistant professor with the School of Medicine at the University of Kansas in Wichita, in a media release.
Among the study sample, 66,795 participants said they regularly use e-cigarettes. For a control group, the researchers used the remaining 343,856 respondents who said they had never used e-cigarettes. The researchers calculated odds ratios using logistic regression analysis.
The authors found that, compared to non-users, e-cigarette users had a 71% higher risk of stroke, a 59% higher risk of heart attack or angina, and a 40% higher risk of coronary heart disease — double the rate of cigarette smoking.
In all, 4.2% of e-cigarette users have reported suffering from a stroke.
The American Heart Association calls for greater regulation of e-cigarette products and marketing.
The study is being presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2019 in Honolulu.
Well done Ben! But this report dates from 2022 and it is now 2025. Maybe the study needs to be updated. The tobacco companies probably consider that e-cigarettes/vape below people to stop smoking their ‘happiest thought’. There was always an incentive to stop smoking – called Death – but up to now no incentive to stop consuming these Pernicious Products. Now maybe there is – just.
Well done Ben!