Regular cannabis consumption could give you a heart attack, new study reveals

[Simple Jack]

Regular cannabis consumption could give you a heart attack, new study reveals

People who smoke marijuana or eat weed-laced edibles daily are a third more likely to develop coronary artery disease

Whether you smoke or eat cannabis, regular consumption could give you a heart attack, according to a new study.

People who smoke marijuana or eat weed-laced edibles daily are a third more likely to develop coronary artery disease (CAD.)

One of the largest studies of the long term toll of the drug on the heart revealed that the more you smoke the higher the risk.

CAD is the most common form of heart disease – cholesterol narrows the arteries supplying blood to the organ, causing chest pain, shortness of breath and fatigue.

It can cause heart attacks too.

The significant link remained regardless of whether users smoked tobacco, drank alcohol, had major cardiovascular risk factors, and no matter their age and sex.

Whether users took cannabis by smoking the drug, eating edibles, or other methods, also made no difference.

 

Marijuana has consistently ranked the most popular drug in England and Wales, with 7.4 percent 16 to 59 year-olds blazing it in the last year.

Meanwhile, decriminalisation in many states means around 18 percent of adults in the US use the drug each year.

Cannabis use disorder is a recognised psychiatric disorder involving how often people use the drug, and how dependent they are.

Researchers called for the public to realise that smoking weed is not risk free.

The American College of Cardiology researchers added people should let their doctors know if they use the drug, so clinicians can start monitoring heart health.

Dr Ishan Paranjpe, resident physician at Stanford University and the study’s lead author, said: “We found that cannabis use is linked to CAD, and there seems to be a dose-response relationship in that more frequent cannabis use is associated with a higher risk of CAD.

 

“In terms of the public health message, it shows that there are probably certain harms of cannabis use that weren’t recognised before, and people should take that into account.

“From a scientific standpoint, these findings are exciting because they suggest there might be new drug targets and mechanisms we can explore to take control of this pathway going forward.”

How often 175,000 participants smoked weed was compared with the rates of CAD diagnosis in the group versus the wider US population.

A genetics-based method of identifying a causal link between using cannabis and developing was applied.

Those who smoked the drug daily were 34 percent more likely to develop CAD.

 

Previous studies revealed the psychoactive molecule that gets users “high”, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), acts on receptors in the central nervous system in the heart and blood vessels.

THC’s interaction with blood vessels could inflame the tubes and allow plaque to build up, leading to CAD.

Scientists would not expect the same effects using CBD (cannabidiol).

CBD is another active ingredient in hemp and weed, often extracted for products without THC.

Understanding marijuana’s risk to the heart could help clinicians develop new interventions.

Next, researchers would like to follow up the study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.

They want to investigate the health-implications of taking cannabis in different forms.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/cannabis-smoke-heart-attack-risk-b2288946.html

[Boojum]

I can't take any article seriously that mentions the made-up bullshit that is 'cannabis use disorder'

 

 

E2A I wonder which pharmaceutical company is funding Dr Paranjpe...

Edited February 26, 2023 by Boojum

[mikeydoughnut]

Really! No way! Right that’s that settled then. Thanks Doctor Ishan Potattypeeler you’ve just saved me from certain heart disease …. 

[smilertoo]

preparing another scapegoat for all the 'unexplained' heart attacks lately.

[wizzzard]

52 minutes ago, Boojum said:

...cannabis use disorder'

 

Isn't that when you run out of weed?

[twigs]

one of cannabis’s most powerful uses, as a natural anti-inflammatory, is suddenly gone  

 

and it causes plack build up?

 

Marijuana Chemical Fights Hardened Arteries 

But Smoking Cannabis Isn't the Answer, Says Money..

 

Written by Miranda Hitti

 

FROM THE WEBMD ARCHIVES 

April 6, 2005 --

 

The active ingredient in cannabis that produces changes in brainmessages appears to fight atherosclerosis -- a hardening of the arteries. 

 

But puffing pot probably won't help. The findings, reported in the journal Nature, "should not be taken to mean that smoking marijuana is beneficial for the heart," says Michael Roth, MD, a professor of medicine at UCLA medical school. 

 

It takes a very specific amount of THC -- marijuana's key chemical -- to help the arteries. That dose is too low to produce mood-altering effects in the brain, according to the new study. 

 

"It would be difficult to achieve such specific concentrations in the blood by smoking marijuana," Roth explains in a Nature editorial. 

Smoking Pot: Bad for the Heart?

Smoking marijuana can speed up the pulse and raise blood pressure (followed by a sudden fall upon standing or walking), Roth notes. 

"These effects lower the exercise threshold for chest pain [angina], and are an independent risk factor for heart attack and stroke," he writes. Inhaling marijuana smoke can also impair oxygen delivery via the blood, says Roth. 

 

‘the money bit’

The best way to take advantage of THC's artery-protecting effects may be by developing new prescription drugs "rather than using marijuana or oral THC as medicines," he writes. 

 

Testing THC on Mice

The new study was conducted on mice, not people. First, mice went on an 11-week fatty diet designed to clog their arteries. For the last six weeks of the diet, some mice also got an orally administered low dose of THC along with the high-fat food. 

Afterward, the mice who had received THC had fewer signs of atherosclerosis. None of those mice died during treatment or showed unhealthy behavior, says the study. 

 

The results may be due to THC's anti-inflammatory properties, write the researchers, who included François Mach, MD, of the cardiology division at University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. Inflammation has been shown to be associated with the development of atherosclerosis. 

 

Tracing THC's Effects

The researchers took a closer look at THC. They knew the chemical has two receptors, called CB1 (mainly found in the brain) and CB2 (mostly found outside the brain). 

 

When they used another drug to block CB2 receptors in the mice, THC couldn't protect the animals' arteries.

 

As for the CB1 receptors, the THC dose used in the study was too low to affect them, so no "high" was created ??

 

 

 

lowers oxygen and increased heart rate?  

 

 

 

 

[Island Lifer]

I'm not afraid of dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens. 

[Themadhippy]

funny that.My ole man had  3 heart attacks but never touched weed.His downfall was all legal,malt whiskey ,nicotine and salt, of the 3 his doc advised him salt was the one to try and cut back most.

[purepotstill]

THC definitely increases my heart rate by +/- 20%. Every single time. And for around 1 to 2 hours.

 

The more scientific studies on cannabis, the more negative and positive effects we'll find. THC by itself has complex effects, adding the whole lot of others of active substances you got into a flower, and it becomes obvious we're not finished with discovering new interactions and effects, especially as most of researches on the subject are recent. Thinking cannabis would only have positive effects just makes no sense. Nothing has only positive effects.

[twigs]

they tried to prove cannabis was dangerous by experimenting on lots of animals, but it didn’t harm what so ever so to prove it was harmful they suffocated lots of monkeys..then band any positive research for 25 years..

 

that’s the people you’re dealing with  

 

good luck! 

 

 

[Boojum]

Bear in mind that an article in a newspaper written by a journalist with no scientific qualifications (as most articles on science are nowadays, they don't have specialist science writers with the educational background to actually understand what they are reporting on any more, most 'science' articles are just a rehash of a press release, I seriously doubt Pol Allingham has actually read and understood the research paper) and what the study actually says are two completely different things. Also bear in mind that when money dictates the direction of research it also often dictates what that research says (hence my comment about the funding). I'm not saying that cannabis doesn't/can't have adverse effects, I'm just saying that I'd take newspaper reports of any research with a very large pinch of salt (which if taken regularly is far more likely to cause coronary heart disease than cannabis ).

Edited February 26, 2023 by Boojum

[twigs]

I wonder if there has been a huge ‘spike’ in heart attacks with the legalisation of weed and it’s use from soap to sensi in uk over the last 20 years..not the last 12 months 

 

maybe in cannabis’s tiny world where there is no words, their is no helping or harm, there’s just an evolutionary coexistence..harmony 

 

@boojum with the wise words, i want you on my legal team  

 

 

 

[Slippy One]

4 hours ago, purepotstill said:

THC definitely increases my heart rate by +/- 20%. Every single time. And for around 1 to 2 hours.

Smoking with baccy?

[purepotstill]

No, vaping.

[Slippy One]

See a doctor. I'm calm happy & relaxed after a good dry herb vape. No racing and blood pressure is lower.