People who use e-cigarettes may be uninformed about the potential risks of vaping—though it is often portrayed as being a "safer" alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes.

Health officials worry that young people are using e-cigarettes at rising rates. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established tough regulations on vaping.

Now, a hard-hitting new study on e-cigarettes—the “largest-ever study conducted” on the effects of vaping—claims that people who vape are more likely to suffer heart attacks, coronary artery disease and depression.

Researcher Mohinder Vindhyal, an assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine Wichita, told Science Daily, “Until now, little has been known about cardiovascular events relative to e-cigarette use. These data are a real wake-up call and should prompt more action and awareness about the dangers of e-cigarettes.”

According to Vindhyal's findings, adults that indulge in vaping can be 56% more likely to have a heart attack, and 30% of them are more likely to have a stroke than people who don’t use tobacco products. Similarly, people who vape are also 55% more likely to have depression and/or anxiety than people who don’t use e-cigarettes.

Vindhyal added, “When the risk of heart attack increases by as much as 55% among e-cigarette users compared to nonsmokers, I wouldn’t want any of my patients nor my family members to vape. When we dug deeper, we found that regardless of how frequently someone uses e-cigarettes, daily or just on some days, they are still more likely to have a heart attack or coronary artery disease.”

Some look to vaping as a way to wean off of cigarettes—but while e-cigarettes are considered less dangerous than smoking tobacco, “that doesn’t mean that vaping is safe,” Vindhyal says.

This study gathered information from over 96,000 respondents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health Interview Survey over a period of several years.

Vindhyal will present his research findings at the American College of Cardiology’s 68th Annual Scientific Session, which will be held in New Orleans on March 16.