As the Philippines faces another pandemic called vape epidemic or vapedemic, health experts on Tuesday sounded the alarm on vape usage among Filipinos, saying that it increases the risk of heart disease.

This after the case of a 22-year-old Filipino male who went viral on social media for having sudden chest pain despite having no known comorbidities but had a two-year history of daily vape use.

He was diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction with e-cigarette or vaping-use-associated lung injury (EVALI).

During the Usapang Puso sa Puso, Dr. Rochelle Cruz, head of the Heart Failure and Critical Care Units Cardiovascular Institute of the Cardinal Santos Medical Center, stressed that it was not an isolated case.

"Vaping is a new thing. I think we're only seeing the long-term effects of that [so-called] alternative for cigarette smoking sa ngayon (for now)," Cruz said.

"I think the recent data is now coming it and say that it really has detrimental effects not just on the lungs but even on the heart," she added.

The patient, the American National Library of Medicine noted, eventually required mechanical ventilation for progressive respiratory distress but expired after three days despite mechanical management.

According to the study, the case "highlights a possible association between vape use and the development of both acute lung injury and myocardial infarction."

"But I think the vaping could really contribute to that heart attack and I cannot really say that this is an isolated case, but we discourage the use of vaping among our patients," Cruz added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Louella Santos, PHA Director III, and Concurrent Advocacy Chairperson said its local guidelines for 2020 clinical practices for dyslipidemia, PHA included vaping as a risk factor.

"Gaya ng (Just like) smoking, we don't particularly see any difference in terms of its risk for development of coronary artery disease. Ito yung mga bara sa ugat sa puso na maaaring mag-cause ng heart attack (To those blockages in the veins in the heart that can cause a heart attack)," Santos continued.

"Ang vaping, although they claim that it is a healthier alternative to smoking, pareho rin po ng impact sa ating mga ugat. Yung exposure sa nicotine, nagde-deposit pa rin ng bad cholesterol, nagbabara pa rin, nagkakalawang pa rin ng ating mga ugat and it can still cause heart attack (Vaping, although they claim that it is a healthier alternative to smoking, has the same impact on our veins. The exposure to nicotine still deposits bad cholesterol, still clogs, still ruts out veins. It can still cause heart attack)," she added.