Does Vaping Increase Blood Pressure and Heart Rate?

• Nicotine can temporarily raise blood pressure and heart rate, regardless of delivery method. 
• These short-term changes are generally mild and fade after nicotine wears off. 
• According to the BHF, nicotine is “not a significant health hazard for people without heart conditions.”
• The long-term cardiovascular effects of newer products like vapes are still being studied.

Nicotine is a stimulant. It activates the sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” response) which makes the heart beat faster and blood vessels tighten. 

Studies show that nicotine can cause short-lived increases in cardiovascular metrics, such as blood pressure and heart rate.¹ These effects typically fade once nicotine has left the body.

How nicotine affects cardiovascular function depends on how much nicotine you get, how quickly you get it, and what other chemicals come with it. Research in this area is ongoing.

This article provides general information for adults who use nicotine. It is not intended as personalised medical advice. If you have heart disease, are pregnant, or are concerned about your risk, speak to your GP.

The short-term cardiovascular effects of nicotine seen in studies include:^1,4 

• A temporary rise in heart rate and blood pressure 
• Short-term narrowing of blood vessels 
• Elevated adrenaline 
• A faster-beating heart

For most healthy adults, these changes usually fade once the nicotine wears off. 

People who use nicotine regularly may develop tolerance, which means that increases in heart rate and blood pressure tend to be less large with chronic use.⁵ 

This does not mean that the effects disappear entirely, only that the body becomes less reactive to them.

For people with existing heart disease, the British Heart Foundation notes that:⁶ 

“Nicotine is a problem for people with heart disease. It raises the heart rate, contradicting the goal of most treatments.”

Overall, human studies on nicotine show that:^1,7 

• Nicotine delivered through non-combustible and pharmaceutical products like NRTs (nicotine replacement therapy) does not increase serious heart problems such as heart attack or stroke  
• People with existing heart disease can safely use NRTs (as long as their condition is under control) 

The British Heart Foundation also states that nicotine is not linked to major long-term cardiovascular disease: ⁶ 

“Nicotine, while highly addictive, is not a significant health hazard for people without heart conditions. It does not cause acute cardiac events or coronary heart disease, and is not carcinogenic.” 

Although nicotine’s short-term effects are temporary, researchers continue to study whether regular use with newer products (such as nicotine pouches and vapes) could influence things such as blood pressure, inflammation, blood vessels, or arterial function over time. 

According to the American Heart Association, it is unclear how the short-term effects of nicotine relate to long-term cardiovascular risk.⁵

Nicotine affects the heart differently depending on how quickly it enters the body and what other chemicals come with it. 

If nicotine enters the bloodstream quickly, this leads to faster changes in things like heart rate and blood pressure. 

The table below summarises how different nicotine products compare in terms of short- and long-term cardiovascular effects.  

Note that tobacco-free nicotine pouches are a relatively new product with limited research into their short- and long-term effects.  

However, because they deliver nicotine in a similar way to snus, our understanding of how snus affects the cardiovascular system may also be relevant to nicotine pouches.

Table Comparing Nicotine Products and Their Cardiovascular Effects

There is currently not enough human data to draw conclusions about the long-term effects of vaping.  

This means that it is unclear if long-term vaping leads to hypertension (medically relevant high blood pressure).

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) states:⁶ 

“Experts agree that we need longer-term data on the effects of using e-cigarettes, particularly in regard to cardiovascular disease.  

But since e-cigarettes have only been on sale in the UK since 2007, long-term studies don’t yet exist.” 

However, based on studies of smokeless tobacco and NRTs, nicotine alone does not appear to cause the large increases in heart disease risk that are seen with combustible cigarettes.⁷

Nicotine activates the body’s sympathetic nervous system, which can lead to short-lived increases in heart rate and blood pressure. 

These effects vary depending on how nicotine is delivered. Some products deliver nicotine more quickly, which produces a stronger cardiovascular response. 

The long-term cardiovascular effects of newer nicotine products, such as vapes, require further long-term research.