Vaping Inhibits Post-exercise Hypotension Responses In Young Healthy Adults

PURPOSE: Electronic cigarettes over recent years have become rapidly popularized among a young, otherwise healthy population. Marketed as a safer alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes, there remain unknown effects of vaping on the cardiovascular (CV) system or exercise capacity. Acute vaping has been shown to elicit increases in resting systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). Exercise has been shown to reduce CV disease risk through its ability to reduce sympathetic tone and improve vasodilatory capacity. We investigated the effects of vaping on CV markers at rest, as well as acutely after exercise, while also looking at the direct exercise capacity effects following a vaping session. METHODS: Seventeen healthy college-aged young adults (8 users, 9 control) completed familiarization and randomized experimental protocols. Following baseline measurements after 10 minutes of quiet rest, the subject would either vape, ad libitum, or rest for 60 minutes followed by “post-vape” CV measurements. The subject would then compete an individualized maximal exercise protocol until volitional exhaustion. CV measurements were then taken again 10-, 20-, and 30- minutes post-exercise. A nicotine naïve control group underwent the same study protocol with the absence of the vaping trial. Repeated measures ANOVA with planned contrasts were used to determine differences between time, trials, and groups. RESULTS: Adults who vape have a higher systolic blood pressure at rest (124 ± 6 mmHg) compared to a nicotine naïve control group (110 ± 8 mmHg; P < 0.01), despite being younger (P < 0.01). Vaping also increases systolic pressure responses 60-min post-vape (P < 0.01), and 10-, 20- (P < 0.001), 30- (P < 0.05) minutes post exercise. No significant differences (P = 0.62) between groups or trials for cfPWV or VO2max. CONCLUSIONS: Vaping augments resting and post-exercise central pressures. While vaping hasn’t impacted arterial stiffness, over time the acute and chronic increased pressure responses post-vaping can eventually cause structural changes, resulting in an increased rate of arterial stiffening with age. Vaping didn’t have a significant impact on exercise capacity; however, it does seem to mitigate the beneficial post-exercise hypotensive response.