Fraser Olender, the reality star of Below Deck, has spent some time in the hospital recovering from a heart attack. The reason for his visit? It's probably not what you would think.
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In an Instagram post that he labeled "not chic but very important", Olender told all. The reality TV star revealed that his vape addiction was actually what caused the health scare.
He explained how, after having severe chest pains, he was rushed to specialists in London. These specialists, he explained, told him he had "vape poisoning," which is apparently a vaping-associated lung injury. He described the effects of having this ailment, and honestly, it sounds pretty scary.
"I haven't touched a vape since this happened and never will. The pain I endured for 24 hours was inexplicable, 2 rounds of morphine didn't touch the sides and eventually had to be given the strongest pain relief legal to administer in ER - and that only brought my pain from a 10 to a 7," Olender shared.
Oldender explained that the contents of his vape led him to have a coronary artery vasospasm, which means that his arteries stopped supplying blood to his heart. This lack of oxygen, he shared, is what caused his heart attack.
Olender's Experience Highlights the Dangers of Vaping
Olender urged his followers to quit vaping while they were ahead and take his experience as a lesson. "I could have died for the sake of something so ridiculously stupid, so please do yourselves a favour and give it up too - cold turkey," the reality star shared.
Vaping was first introduced to the US as an alternative to cigarettes in the early 2000s. However, it really exploded in popularity around 2011-2015. The dangers of e-cigarettes are relatively unknown, mainly because effects are not predicted to show up for about 20-30 years.
However, Dr. Matthew L. Springer explains that it doesn't take a genius to see that vaping has the potential to do damage, especially to organs like the heart. "In our human study, we found that chronic e-cigarette users had impaired blood vessel function, which may put them at increased risk for heart disease," he shared. "It indicates that chronic users of e-cigarettes may experience a risk of vascular disease similar to that of chronic smokers."
This totally matches up with Olender's experience, where "vape-poisoning" blocked his blood vessels, preventing his heart from working correctly.
He explained to his followers, "I'm grateful to still be recovering now, and I'm sharing this because I never realised something like this could happen. If this experience can help even one person rethink vaping, it's worth telling."
Photo by: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images
