Reality star claims VAPING caused heart attack at 33 years old after hospital dash in London
He’s urging fans to give up the addictive habit after this “wake-up call”
BELOW Deck star Fraser Olender has reveled he went through a scary hospital dash last month, claiming that vaping caused him to have a heart attack.
The reality personality, 33, says he could have died during the scary ordeal, from which he is still in recovery.
Fraser, who joined Below Deck in 2021 and is the boat’s Chief Steward, took to his Instagram to share the incident with his 250K followers this week as he warned against vaping.
Claiming that the health scare was a result of his use of vapes, Fraser shared pictures from his hospital stint and explained that he was rushed there following severe chest pains.
He wrote: “A few weeks ago I was rushed to hospital due to severe chest pains and difficulties breathing.
“Following this, I spent a week in London hospitals seeing specialists to identify the cause and possible damage of the incident.
“To keep it simple – I had vape poisoning, (an E-cigarette or Vaping-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI)) and I have never experienced fear or pain like it.”
Fraser continued: “Whatever was in my vape caused me to have a coronary artery vasospasm. Medically, that means the arteries supplying blood to my heart suddenly clamped down.
“That spasm reduced blood flow enough to cause an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), better known as a heart attack – not because of a blockage, but because my heart wasn’t getting enough oxygen during the spasm.”
The TV personality said that he is “grateful” to be recovering, and hopes to be a voice of reason for others to “rethink” vaping.
Detailing how the scare has changed his outlook, Fraser wrote: “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.
“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.”
Fraser rounded off the post by urging his followers to “be safe” and thanked fans for their support.
He added that since dropping his vaping habit his skin has “never been brighter or clearer”.
Fans and friends took to the comment section to send their well-wishes and support, including Denise Welch.
“Honestly Fraser this is sooooo important,” wrote the Loose Women star before recalling a story about a friend of hers who had suffered stroke-like systems after vaping.
Made In Chelsea’s Lucy Watson and Love Island’s Montana Brown were also amongst those commenting on the post.
