A potential correlation between marijuana use and a person’s risk for serious health events including heart failure and heart attack has been discovered by two recent studies examining the long-term effects of the drug.
One study, among the unpublished findings to be presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia, indicated that daily marijuana usage increased the risk of heart failure by 34% when compared to non-users.
The other study looked at how elder marijuana users were influenced by cardiovascular events during hospital stays compared to non-users using a countrywide database of hospitalizations.
The study discovered that if an older person reported using marijuana, their risk of a major acute cardiac or brain event was dramatically increased, especially if they also had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or Type 2 diabetes.
Despite an increase in regular users brought on by legalization in many states, there is currently little study on the repercussions of long-term and frequent cannabis use. For this reason, the studies set out to investigate these implications.
“Earlier studies have demonstrated connections between marijuana use and cardiovascular disorders such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, and atrial fibrillation, which is known to induce heart failure,” stated Yakubu Bene-Alhasan, M.D., M.P.H., who was the primary investigator of the first study carried out under the “All of Us” research program sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
Regular marijuana use roughly triples the risk of heart failure, according to a study
In the first study, which was carried out under the NIH “All of Us” research program, 156,999 patients were monitored for a little under four years.
Through surveys, the participants self-reported their regular use of marijuana for non-medical purposes from 2016 to 2022. A maximum of 45 months were spent monitoring each person after they enrolled in the program. The participants’ median age was 54.
During the course of the trial, 2,958 participants, or about 2% of the total, suffered heart failure.
Regardless of age, birth sex, or smoking history, daily cannabis usage was linked to a 34% greater risk of heart failure overall, according to the findings. The study did not, however, address marijuana consumption practices, which may have an effect on cardiovascular outcomes.
Compared to non-users, cannabis users had a 1.6% increased risk of heart attacks.
However, the study did have limitations due to the large-scale nature of the analysis and the fact that it relies on hospital-specific categorization, the researchers noted.
“Knowing the possible increased cardiovascular risk from cannabis use is important because since 2015, cannabis use in the U.S. has almost doubled and is increasing in older adults,” lead study author Avilash Mondal, M.D., a resident physician at Philadelphia’s Nazareth Hospital, said in a statement.
Remember that neither study has yet been published or subjected to peer review, and there is very little existing literature on the topic. On the basis of these results, researchers have recommended that the medical community keep researching the subject.
“According to the most recent research on cannabis use, smoking and inhaling cannabis increases blood levels of tar (partially burned combustible matter) and carboxyhemoglobin (carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas), which are similar to the effects of smoking tobacco cigarettes and have been linked to heart attacks, heart muscle disease, chest pain, and heart rhythm abnormalities.”