Research exposes clots

A new US study involving mice has raised ‘another’ concern about the ‘danger of electronic cigarettes in humans’ after experiments showed that short-term exposure to the device’s vapors appeared to increase the risk of clot formation [in mice], according to a story in HealthDay.
The story said that a higher risk of clots forming could lead to a greater chance of a stroke or heart attack.
In the study published on July 18 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, mice were exposed to two daily sessions of vapor from a top-selling brand of e-cigarette liquid over five days. A second group of mice used as a control was exposed only to clean air.
The study found that the platelets in mice exposed to e-cigarette vapors became hyperactive. Platelets are the components inside blood that help the body form clots to stop bleeding, said the story, which went on to explain that overactive platelets in the mice exposed to e-cigarettes resulted in the formation of blood clots, ‘which would be at risk of traveling to the heart or brain where they could cause a heart attack or stroke’.