Dr. Zorba Paster: Updates on e-cigarettes and treatments for cholesterol and high blood pressure

More updates from the recent Mayo Clinic conference in Hawaii that I attended.

Vaping and e-cigs

The more we learn about it, the more dangerous it is. E-cig users inhale a liquid that’s been treated up to 400 degrees. Talk about hot – that’s really hot.

Now, tobacco smoke can get this hot, too, but it’s not vaporized into a gas as e-cigs are. It’s smoke, and that appears to be a different story to the lungs.

Clearly, marijuana e-cigs, which more often than not contain a vitamin E liquid, are bad for you. Whether the “legally” made ones from Colorado, Washington or Illinois are better remains to be seen – that is, whether they are safer.

If you’re going to get stoned, I’d stay away from the stuff. But back to nicotine: If you quit smoking with e-cigs, that’s fine. But if you’re going to smoke e-cigs regularly, you’re just replacing one bad habit with another, so think again.

Twenty years from now, you might just get emphysema like other folks. Clean fresh air is all that should go into your lungs. The more you sin, the more you risk.

Cholesterol and high blood pressure

Different medical societies have different recommendations. They’re not all on the same page when it comes to treating lipids and blood pressure. They all agree they should be treated, but how far to go and how low is an individual thing.

For blood pressure, anything above 130/80 should be treated. If it’s not too high, lifestyle changes are first – lose weight, exercise more, eat less salt and drink less booze.

If it’s over 140/90, I’d start with pills first, then hit lifestyle and see if you can get off the pills. If you’re older than 65, getting it below 140/90 might be all you need.

This is where individualization counts. Some need it lower, some can’t tolerate it lower because it causes side effects. No blanket recommendation here.

The other thing is that several pills working in different ways to treat hypertension are often better, with fewer side effects, than one pill pushed to its limit. No one wants to take more than one pill, but that might be just what the doctor ordered.

Stay well.