People who use cannabis and other recreational drugs are up to a third more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke, alarming new research suggests.
Drug advocates often claim that marijuana is safe because it is “natural.”
But scientists in France, who followed more than 1,300 patients in intensive care, found that people who took only cannabis had almost double the risk of suffering a cardiovascular event.
Experts today urged hospitals to screen all emergency room patients for recreational drug use.
Scientists have previously suggested that cannabis’s active ingredient, THC, triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response, increasing heart rate and blood pressure.
Proponents of the drug often argue that marijuana is safe because it is “natural.” But scientists in France, who followed more than 1,300 patients in intensive care, found that people who used only cannabis had almost double the risk of suffering a cardiovascular event.
While some warning signs are easy to spot, such as severe chest pain, others are more vague and difficult to pinpoint.
Over time, this damages the heart and increases the risk of life-threatening problems, such as heart attacks.
In the study, researchers followed 1,392 patients who were admitted to 39 different intensive care units in France over a two-week period in April 2021.
Among them, 11 percent (157) tested positive for recreational drug use, including 136 for cannabis.
The other 21 were found to be carrying heroin, cocaine, amphetamines or MDMA.
More than a quarter (28.7 percent) tested positive for two or more of these drugs.
During one year of follow-up, researchers found that seven percent (94) of patients experienced a serious cardiovascular event, including death.
Of the 713 total patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome, 96 (14 percent) had a positive result on a recreational drug test and 50 (7 percent) experienced serious cardiovascular events.
Computer modeling was found Recreational drug use “was associated with a three-fold increased risk of serious cardiovascular events,” the scientists said.
They also found that between Among the recreational drugs analyzed, MDMA had a risk of cardiovascular events 4.1 times higher than that of not taking any drug.
Heroin was 3.6 times more common and cannabis 1.8 times more common.
“Other types of drugs had no statistically significant association with serious cardiovascular events,” the researchers added.
Study author Dr Raphael Mirailles, a physician at Lariboisiere Hospital in Paris, said: “Recreational drug use was associated with a threefold increased risk of suffering a repeat major cardiovascular event within one year.”
He added: ‘There is a growing body of data regarding the poorer prognosis associated with recreational drug use, not only in cardiac intensive care units but also in conventional intensive care units.
‘Despite the high rate of underreporting of recreational drug use, current guidelines do not recommend systematic screening.
“It could improve patient risk stratification and personalized care to facilitate drug withdrawal. Therefore, systematic screening in intensive care should be considered.”
Scientists are still working to unravel exactly why this cardiovascular risk occurs, although it is believed that THC activates the body’s fight-or-flight response, which typically occurs during stress or fear.
Stroke symptoms are often remembered by this four-letter acronym: FAST. Stroke patients may have a drooping face to one side, difficulty raising both arms and difficulty speaking, and time is of the essence, as prompt treatment of a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or mild stroke can substantially reduce the risk of a more fatal severe stroke.
Other telltale signs of an impending stroke, which are equally common, often go unnoticed. These include sudden numbness on one side of the body, sudden dizziness and difficulty swallowing.
When the fight or flight response is triggered, heart rate and blood pressure increase.
Over time, this causes the heart to work harder to pump blood to the rest of the body.
This can wear down the heart and lead to conditions such as heart disease and stroke.
The scientists will present their research on 31 August at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024 in London.
Latest figures show that cannabis remains the most popular drug among 16 to 59 year olds in England and Wales.
Last year, the highest rate was among 20- to 24-year-olds, with nearly one in six people in this age group using it, official figures show.
Last year, 32 deaths in England and Wales and around 300 in the United States were attributable to marijuana.
A 2019 study by researchers at King’s College London also found that daily use of high-potency marijuana can increase the risk of psychosis fivefold.
This comes as alarming data from earlier this year revealed that premature deaths from cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, have reached their highest level in more than a decade.
Cases of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes among those under 75 had been declining since the 1960s thanks to falling smoking rates, advanced surgical techniques and advances such as stents and statins.
But rising obesity rates and its catalogue of associated health problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are now thought to be one of the main contributing factors.
Slow ambulance response times for Category 2 calls in England (which include suspected heart attacks and strokes), as well as long waits for tests and treatment, have also been blamed for the rise, which is also being felt in younger adults.
Despite claims by anti-vaxxers, cardiologists say fears that Covid vaccines may have fuelled a rise in heart problems are far from true.