Cannabis Products Pose Stroke, Heart Attack Risks

CANNABIS AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISKS For the latest study, researchers analyzed national survey data for more than 430,000 adults from 2016 through 2020 to examine an association between

cannabis use and cardiovascular outcomes. They found a link between cannabis use and heart disease, heart attack and stroke, and noted that the risk for these events increased with more

frequent use. Daily cannabis users, for example, had 25 percent higher odds of heart attack and 42 percent higher odds of stroke than nonusers. Only 4 percent of study participants who said

they used cannabis identified themselves as daily users. Weekly cannabis users showed a 5 percent increased risk of stroke and a 3 percent increased risk of heart attack. The researchers

also examined the effects for people who had never smoked or vaped tobacco and found that just using cannabis was associated with several heart risks.   The majority of cannabis users in the

study reported smoking it over other forms of consumption. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), marijuana smoke delivers many of the same substances

researchers have found in tobacco smoke, and these substances are harmful to the cardiovascular system. “Cannabis smoke is not all that different from tobacco smoke, except for the

psychoactive drug: THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) vs. nicotine,” first study author Abra Jeffers, a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in a statement. “Our study

shows that smoking cannabis has significant cardiovascular risk, just like smoking tobacco. This is particularly important because cannabis use is increasing, and conventional tobacco use

is decreasing.” Cannabis can also make the heart beat faster and increase blood pressure immediately after use, the CDC says. What’s more, the part of cells that are responsible for

recognizing THC — called endocannabinoid receptors — are widespread in the body’s cardiovascular tissues “and might facilitate heart risks,” a news release from the National Institutes of

Health (NIH) says. The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of NIH.  “The cannabis plant has hundreds of compounds, many of which interact with our body’s

physiological functions in ways we don’t completely understand yet,” Sera says.