What are the acute effects of inhaling nicotine through an e-cigarette on cardiovascular neural regulation? In this episode Guest Editor Loren Wold (The Ohio State University) interviews lead author William Cooke (Michigan Technological University) and expert Ted Wagener (The Ohio State University) about the latest research by Gonzalez and Cooke on this timely topic. As more and more studies show that e-cigarettes do carry their own distinct health risks, Gonzalez and Cooke recruited naïve e-cigarette users, otherwise known as “never smokers,” for their e-cigarette study. The authors observed an acute increase in arterial pressure in study participants, which was associated with a blunting of peripheral sympathetic activity. Why is this important? The authors believe that there could be long term effects on the heart, including increases of heart rate and blood pressure, which could lead to pre-hypertension or chronic hypertension for non-smokers who opt to use electronic cigarette devices. Our experts unpack the implications of this unique study, the potential for researchers to separate effects of inhaled nicotine from effects of inhaled combustible tobacco toxicants, and what new federal guidelines may be forthcoming from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for e-cigarette devices in the coming year. Listen now to find out more.

Joshua Eric Gonzalez and William Harold Cooke Acute effects of electronic cigarettes on arterial pressure and peripheral sympathetic activity in young non-smokers  Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published November 8, 2020. DOI: doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00448.2020