“I haven’t touched a vape since this happened and never will,” Fraser Olender said.

*Below Deck *star says vape use gave him a heart attack: ‘I could have died’

"I haven't touched a vape since this happened and never will," Fraser Olender said.

By Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum is a staff writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2019 and is a published author. Her work has previously appeared in *TV Guide Magazine*, E! News/E! Online, *The Hollywood Reporter*, Mashable, Bustle, IGN, DCComics.com, Inverse, *The Daily Northwestern*, and more.

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December 5, 2025 5:45 p.m. ET

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Fraser Olender on 'Below Deck'. Credit:

Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

*Below Deck* star Fraser Olender is warning others about the dangers of using a vape due to his recent heart attack caused by vape poisoning.

The reality TV star shared a health update on his Instagram on Friday, revealing the "not chic but very important" story of how he ended up in the hospital with a life-threatening issue.

"A few weeks ago I was rushed to hospital due to severe chest pains and difficulties breathing," Olender wrote in the 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."

Fraser Olender on 'Below Deck'.

Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

The *Below Deck* star went on to explain how vaping led to a heart attack.

"Whatever was in my vape caused me to have a coronary artery vasospasm," he said. "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."

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Olender added that he's "grateful to still be recovering now," and decided to share his story because he never knew vaping could have such a serious impact on his health.

"If this experience can help even one person rethink vaping, it’s worth telling," he said. "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."

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He continued, "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."

Olender ended his message with a wish for everyone to put their health first, and to thank everyone for their well wishes. He also shared that he quit vaping "nearly" three weeks ago, and he's already noticed one positive change.

"My skin has never been better, brighter and clearer, there MUST be a correlation," he said. "BEST skincare hack out there."

Check out Olender's full message below:

Olender debuted in season 9 of the Bravo yachting show before becoming the franchise's first male Chief Stew in season 10.

Last month, he and *Las Culturistas* podcast co-host Matt Rogers went public with their relationship. Rogers can be seen sitting next to Olender's hospital bed in the Instagram post above.

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