Vaping Immediately Changes Your Blood Flow, New Study Finds

When you take a hit off an e-cigarette, blood flow to your body and brain may immediately slow down.

A new study finds vaping, with and without nicotine, quickly impacts vascular function in a worrisome way.

The study included 31 healthy participants who underwent MRI scans before and after smoking a traditional cigarette and vaping e-cigarettes.

Researchers measured blood flow and oxygen saturation in their brain and femoral artery, which feeds the entire lower body.

Compared to a control group, the smokers and vapers experienced a significant decrease in blood flow velocity in the femoral artery.

The decrease in vascular function was most pronounced after inhaling e-cigarettes with nicotine, followed by e-cigarettes without nicotine.

The lead author says there were also indications that oxygen uptake by the lungs immediately drops after vaping.

She says, “If the acute consumption of an e-cigarette can have an effect that is immediately manifested at the level of the vessels, it is conceivable that the chronic use can cause vascular disease.”

She says refraining from smoking and vaping is the best preventive medicine. 

Source: Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)

Author Affiliations: University of Pennsylvania, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences