E-cigarettes can cause cardiac arrhythmias, warns new research

A new study from University of Louisville researchers in the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute has found that exposure to e-cigarette aerosols can cause heart arrhythmias in animal models - both in the form of premature and skipped heart beats. The study findings, published Oct. 25 in Nature Communications, suggest exposure to specific chemicals within e-cigarette liquids (e-liquids) promote arrhythmias and cardiac electrical dysfunction.

"Our findings demonstrate that short-term exposure to e-cigarettes can destabilize heart rhythm through specific chemicals within e-liquids," said Alex Carll, assistant professor in the UofL Department of Physiology who led the study. "These findings suggest that e-cigarette use involving certain flavors or solvent vehicles may disrupt the heart's electrical conduction and provoke arrhythmias. These effects could increase the risk for atrial or ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac arrest."

Reference:

Carll, A.P., Arab, C., Salatini, R. et al. E-cigarettes and their lone constituents induce cardiac arrhythmia and conduction defects in mice. Nat Commun 13, 6088 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33203-1