Increased vulnerability to atrial and ventricular arrhythmias caused by different types of inhaled tobacco or marijuana products.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of a plethora of new tobacco products marketed as being less harmful than smoking, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, and the increased popularity of recreational marijuana have raised concerns about the potential cardiovascular risk associated with their use. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of novel tobacco products or marijuana can cause the development of proarrhythmic substrate and eventually lead to arrhythmias. METHODS: Rats were exposed to smoke from tobacco, marijuana, or cannabinoid-depleted marijuana, to aerosol from electronic cigarettes or heated tobacco products, or to clean air once per day for 8 weeks, following by assays for blood pressure, cardiac function, ex vivo electrophysiology, and histochemistry. RESULTS: The rats exposed to tobacco or marijuana products exhibited progressively increased systolic blood pressure, decreased cardiac systolic function with chamber dilation, and reduced overall heart rate variability, relative to the clean air negative control group. Atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia testing by ex vivo optical mapping revealed a significantly higher susceptibility to each, with a shortened effective refractory period and prolonged calcium transient duration. Histological analysis indicated that in all exposure conditions except for air, exposure to smoke or aerosol from tobacco or marijuana products caused severe fibrosis with decreased microvessel density and higher level of sympathetic nerve innervation. CONCLUSION: These pathophysiological results indicate that tobacco and marijuana products can induce arrhythmogenic substrates involved in cardiac electrical, structural, and neural remodeling, facilitating the development of arrhythmias.

Comparable Impairment of Vascular Endothelial Function by a Wide Range of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Devices.

INTRODUCTION: Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; ie, vaping devices) such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and newer coil-less ultrasonic vaping devices are promoted as less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes. However, their cardiovascular effects are understudied. We investigated whether exposure to aerosol from a wide range of ENDS devices, including a new ultrasonic vaping device, impairs endothelial function. AIMS AND METHODS: We measured arterial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in rats (n = 8/group) exposed to single session of 10 cycles of pulsatile 5-second exposure over 5 minutes to aerosol from e-liquids with and without nicotine generated from a USONICIG ultrasonic vaping device, previous generation e-cigarettes, 5% nicotine JUUL pods (Virginia Tobacco, Mango, Menthol), and an IQOS heated tobacco product; with Marlboro Red cigarette smoke and clean air as controls. We evaluated nicotine absorption and serum nitric oxide levels after exposure, and effects of different nicotine acidifiers on platelet aggregation. RESULTS: Aerosol/smoke from all conditions except air significantly impaired FMD. Serum nicotine varied widely from highest in the IQOS group to lowest in USONICIG and previous generation e-cig groups. Nitric oxide levels were not affected by exposure. Exposure to JUUL and similarly acidified nicotine salt e-liquids did not affect platelet aggregation rate. Despite lack of heating coil, the USONICIG under airflow conditions heated e-liquid to ~77°C. CONCLUSIONS: A wide range of ENDS, including multiple types of e-cigarettes with and without nicotine, a heated tobacco product, and an ultrasonic vaping device devoid of heating coil, all impair FMD after a single vaping session comparably to combusted cigarettes. IMPLICATIONS: The need to understand the cardiovascular effects of various ENDS is of timely importance, as we have seen a dramatic increase in the use of these products in recent years, along with the growing assumption among its users that these devices are relatively benign. Our conclusion that a single exposure to aerosol from a wide range of ENDS impairs endothelial function comparably to cigarettes indicates that vaping can cause similar acute vascular functional impairment to smoking and is not a harmless activity.