“Below Deck” star Fraser Olender revealed he suffered a heart attack and lung injury from vaping.
“A few weeks ago I was rushed to hospital due to severe chest pains and difficulties breathing,” the Bravo star, 33, wrote on Friday alongside an Instagram carousel of photos showing him in the hospital.
He noted that the incident led him to spend a week in London hospitals visiting specialists as he sought to find the cause behind the pain he was experiencing.
“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,” he shared.
“Below Deck” star Fraser Olender revealed he suffered a heart attack and lung injury from vaping. Instagram/Fraser Olender
“I had vape poisoning, (an E-cigarette or Vaping-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI)) and I have never experienced fear or pain like it,” he shared. Instagram/Fraser Olender
EVALI is “an acute or subacute respiratory illness and can be fatal,” according to the American Lung Association.
Olender explained that he developed a “coronary artery vasospasm,” meaning that the arteries delivering blood to his 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,” he continued.
The Bravolebrity went on to share that his poisoning soon turned into a “coronary artery vasospasm,” meaning his arteries supplying blood to his heart “clamped down.” Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images
The spasm eventually caused him to have a heart attack “because my heart wasn’t getting enough oxygen.” Fred Jagueneau/Bravo via Getty Images
The Bravolebrity added that he’s out of the woods and is “grateful” to be “recovering” now, but still felt the need to share the scary ordeal with his followers because “I never realised something like this could happen.”
Among the several photos and videos he shared, he also included a brief clip of his boyfriend, “Las Culturistas” podcast host Matt Rogers, supporting him by his hospital bed.
Rogers, wearing a gray hoodie, gave a small smile for the video.
Olender closed the carousel with a picture of himself holding a thumbs up while sitting on flight, showing that he’s all healed up.
He also included a brief clip of his boyfriend, “Las Culturistas” podcast host Matt Rogers, supporting him by his hospital bed.
While Olender is “grateful” to be “recovering,” he shared his story to urge his followers to stop vaping. Instagram/Fraser Olender
“I could have died for the sake of something so ridiculously stupid, so please do yourselves a favour and give it up too,” he wrote. Fred Jagueneau/Bravo via Getty Images
“If this experience can help even one person rethink vaping, it’s worth telling,” he went on in his caption.
“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. We do not know enough about these horrific things but I can tell you one thing; that was NOT cute, not even for the plot,” he closed.
