People who use cannabis are up to a third more likely to have a heart attack, a major study suggests.
The research is another blow to the idea that marijuana is safe because it is ‘natural’, a common claim made by users of the drug.
Experts from Stanford University looked at rates of coronary artery disease (CAD) and cannabis use among 175,000 people in the US.
The more someone used cannabis, the more likely they were to be diagnosed with the condition, with daily users having a 34% higher risk than non-users.
Dr. Ishan Paranjpe, a Stanford physician and lead author of the study, said: “In terms of the public health message, it shows that there are probably certain harms of cannabis use that weren’t recognized before, and people should take that into account. “. .’
People who use cannabis are up to a third more likely to have a heart attack, a major study suggests
The above shows the use of cannabis in the US states. Twenty-one states and DC have legalized it for recreational use in addition to medicinal use, while nearly all now allow it to be used for medicinal purposes.
Previous studies have reported somewhat mixed findings on the relationship between cannabis and heart disease.
Marijuana use causes the heart to beat faster and blood pressure to rise, both of which are thought to increase a person’s risk of developing CAD.
The drug can also cause cannabis-induced vasospasm, or the sudden narrowing of an artery as a result of muscles within the vessel wall contracting rapidly and staying that way.
Cannabis can also lead to platelet aggregation, the process by which platelets in the blood clump together to form clots.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis that gives the “high” sensation, can also damage a person’s organs.
THC binds to cannabinoid receptors in the brain, as well as organs and muscle tissue, including the heart and blood vessels.
The Stanford study is one of the largest to date looking at the cost of the drug on the heart, according to the researchers.
The significant link between heart disease and the drug held regardless of whether the users smoked tobacco, drank alcohol, had major cardiovascular risk factors, and regardless of their age and gender.
Whether users consumed cannabis by smoking the drug, eating edibles, or other methods also made no difference.
CAD is the most common form of cardiovascular disease, which can lead to heart failure.
It killed more than 382,000 Americans in 2020. And about 20.1 million Americans over the age of 20 have CAD, according to federal data.
It is usually caused by a buildup of cholesterol within the lining of the coronary arteries that forms a plaque that narrows the blood vessels and blocks the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart.
The Stanford researchers postulated that blood vessels interacting with THC, the chemical compound in cannabis that gets you high, could cause inflammation within the vessels and allow plaque to build up, eventually causing CAD.
They added that cannabidiol (CBD), an active ingredient in cannabis that is derived from the hemp plant but does not cause a high, would not be expected to have such an effect on heart health.
Understanding the risk of marijuana to the heart could help doctors develop new interventions.
Dr Paranjpe said: “From a scientific point of view, these findings are exciting because they suggest that there could be new drug targets and mechanisms that we can explore to take control of this pathway in the future.”
While the popularity of marijuana is growing and the legal landscape is changing (21 states have legalized recreational use for adults), doctors are still studying the long-term physical and emotional health effects that smoking has on the body.
TO study 2019 conducted by cardiologists in Louisiana and Arizona identified three ways that cannabis use can affect heart health.
The first is cannabis arteritis, a rare vascular condition that causes inflammation and tissue death, blocking arteries leading to extremities, such as fingers or toes.
Meanwhile, a separate 2022 study also conducted by Stanford researchers found that cannabis users who smoked more than once a month were more likely to have a heart attack.
Heavy users were also more likely than non-users to have a heart attack before age 50.
A 2019 study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that nearly 18 percent, or more than 42 million people, used marijuana that year.
That’s an 11 percent increase, or 25.8 million peoplein 2002.
And as public acceptance and enthusiasm for the legal use of the drug grows, more children have easier access to it.
According to researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University who studied extensive data from the National Poison Data System (NPDS), marijuana use among children has skyrocketed 250% in just two decades.
Makers of marijuana products, from edibles to vaporizers, have also followed Big Tobacco’s lead, anti-cannabis campaigners warn, by targeting young people with appealing flavors and colorful packaging.
A 2019 study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that nearly 18 percent, or more than 42 million people, used marijuana that year. That’s an increase from 11 percent on 2002.
A trip to any unlicensed marijuana dealer in New York City (there’s only one licensed out of about 1,400) will reveal familiar products with a twist, like Stoney Patch Gummies and Double Stuff Stoneos.
Advocates, including Luke Niforatos, executive vice president of anti-cannabis legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, have called this murky legal landscape the Wild West.
Mr Niforatos told DailyMail.com last month: ‘People hear about this wild west of literally thousands of different types of youth appeal products. And they think, well, let’s write laws to regulate that.
“Well, every state that legalized marijuana has it in their law (that) companies can’t make products that appeal to young people, and yet we have these products anyway.”
