Below Deck star Fraser Olender has revealed he suffered a heart attack due to “vape poisoning.”
The 33-year-old reality star shared an update with his followers on Instagram Friday, sharing a carousel of photos showing him in hospital.
“A few weeks ago I was rushed to hospital due to severe chest pains and difficulties breathing,” Olender wrote in the post’s caption.
“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.”
EVALI is “a serious inflammatory condition that damages your lungs,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. Healthcare experts still aren’t sure which components of e-liquids directly lead to inflammation.
“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,” Olender continued.
“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.
“I’m grateful to still be recovering now, and I’m sharing this because I never realised something like this could happen. If this experience can help even one person rethink vaping, it’s worth telling.
“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.”
He concluded: “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. Love you all, be safe, put your health first and thank you for all of your well wishes.”
In his post, Olender included a short clip of his boyfriend, Las Culturistas podcast host Matt Rogers, by his bedside. His final photo in the carousel showed him on a flight with a thumbs-up, looking healthy and recovered.
He joined Below Deck in season nine as a steward and made history by becoming the first male Chief Steward in season 10. The Bravo series follows the crew of a luxury yacht as they live and work together while catering to demanding charter guests on high-pressure trips.
Below Deck will return to Bravo in 2026 for season 13.
