E-cigs Not Linked to Heart Damage, Study Says

The use of electronic cigarettes does not appear to be bad for your heart, according to researchers from the Onassis Cardiac Center in Athens, Greece. The Center reported their findings at the European Society for Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2012 held in Munich, Germany.

Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, researcher from the Onassis Center, added during his presentation that electronic cigarettes are significantly less harmful than actual tobacco, and that switching to e-cigs from smoking tobacco is a good health move.

Previous studies have revealed that e-cigs contain fewer harmful toxins than tobacco cigarettes. Additionally, most studies show that nitrosamines—part of a group of carcinogens found in tobacco products—are generally not present in e-cigs. The few that were able to confirm nitrosamine presence reported levels that were notably lesser than what most cigarettes contain.

The research team decided to conduct the study in view of the fact that heart disease is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in smokers. In fact, 40 percent of smoker deaths are due to coronary heart disease alone. The researchers decided to compare the results of their study with the known effects of cigarettes on cardiac function given that e-cigs are marketed solely to smokers as an alternative habit.