- Two separate studies looked at long-term cannabis use and its effects on the heart.
- Initial studies showed that daily cannabis use increased the risk of developing heart failure by 34%.
- A second study found that older cannabis users were more likely to have a heart attack or other cardiac event while hospitalized.
- While the findings are convincing, they are limited because the study did not examine whether people inhaled cannabis or consumed edibles.
- Scientists hope that continued research in this area will help cannabis users become better informed and healthcare providers better informed on how to guide their patients. Are expected.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that cannabis use has increased by approximately 50% over the past decade. In the 2022 survey, 44% of people reported using cannabis compared to the previous year, up from 28% in 2012.
Part of the reason is that several states have legalized marijuana for recreational or medical purposes.
Although there is a lot of research on the benefits that cannabis use may have for reducing anxiety symptoms, reducing pain levels, and helping with mental health,
In two studies, researchers took a closer look at how cannabis use affects the heart over time. One of the studies followed participants and their cannabis use over a four-year period, and the other evaluated data from her 2019 National Inpatient Sample.
The researchers will present their results.
“As state-level marijuana legalization increases across the United States, marijuana use is rapidly increasing, especially among young people,” Dr. Bene Alhassan said in the research summary. “However, there are still many unknowns regarding the effects on cardiovascular health.”
The study utilized data from approximately 157,000 people who participated in the All of Us Research program.
The researchers followed the participants for four years. None of the participants had heart failure when the study began, and they provided information about how often they used cannabis (researchers did not ask whether participants ingested or inhaled cannabis). There was no).
Some participants reported using cannabis recreationally, while others had a prescription for cannabis. For the latter group, the researchers were interested in cannabis use beyond provider regulations.
By the end of the study, about 2% of participants had developed heart failure, and those who used cannabis daily had a 34% higher risk of developing heart failure.
“Our findings should encourage more researchers to study marijuana use and better understand its health effects, especially on cardiovascular risk,” said Dr. Bene Alhassan. .
Daily cannabis use affects heart failure, said Dr. Bene Alhassan. Today’s medical news Occasional use was not associated with heart failure.
“Daily use was associated with an increased risk of heart failure,” said Dr. Bene Alhassan. “Infrequent use was not associated with an increased risk of heart failure, nor was there any protective effect.”
The second study focused on cannabis use in adults aged 65 and older.
Dr Abhilash MondalPhysicians at Nazareth Hospital in Philadelphia led the study. Dr. Mondal reported:
The focus of Dr. Mondal’s research was to determine whether cannabis use affects hospitalization in people at high risk for cardiac events. After excluding tobacco users, the researchers compared data between cannabis users and non-users.
Scientists accessed data from 28,535 cannabis users and focused on whether these people experienced more cardiovascular events during hospitalization compared to people who did not use cannabis. .
The results were surprising: cannabis users were 20% more likely to experience a cardiovascular event or stroke while hospitalized.
Almost 14% of people who reported cannabis use experienced a major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular event while hospitalized, according to the study summary.
Cannabis users also had higher rates of stroke, arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, and acute myocardial infarction.
Dr. Mondal said the findings highlight the importance of health care professionals checking with patients about cannabis use.
“We need to pay attention to serious cardiac and stroke events in older adults with cannabis use disorders. At this time, further research is needed to understand the long-term effects of cannabis use.” Dr. Mondal said.
Dr. Richard Wright, a board-certified cardiologist at Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, said: MNT About studying.
“These provocative findings may be important given the increasing use of cannabis and the perhaps naive belief that the drug is safe,” Dr. Wright said.
Dr. Wright pointed out a weakness in the study, noting that it did not assess whether participants inhaled or ingested cannabis.
“This is a serious issue because inhaled flammable materials contain known toxic substances that can have negative pulmonary, cardiovascular and systemic effects.” Dr. Wright commented.
Dr. Wright also pointed out that people who use cannabis daily may be using it for chronic pain symptoms and are at increased risk for heart failure.
Dr. Chen-Han Chen, medical director of the Structural Heart Program and board-certified interventional cardiac specialist at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, California, also provided input into the study.
Dr. Chen said this study further supports a growing body of research showing that cannabis use can have negative effects on the heart. “It is only in the last few years that researchers have collected data linking cannabis use to worse clinical cardiovascular outcomes,” Dr. Chen said.
Dr. Chen also commented on the possible effects of ingesting and inhaling cannabis.
“Ingesting THC is thought to increase the systolic absorption of the chemical compared to smoking THC, resulting in greater adverse effects. However, cannabis smoke has similar effects to cigarette smoke. contain many carcinogens and mutagens, which poses other health concerns.”
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The CDC notes that these users “are unable to stop using marijuana, even though it causes health and social problems in their lives.”
Symptoms of cannabis use disorder include:
- Craving cannabis on a regular basis
- increase cannabis use to get high
- When you try to stop using cannabis, you experience withdrawal symptoms.
- experiencing social problems as a result of cannabis use
People with concerns about cannabis use disorder should talk to their health care provider or contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hotline for advice.
