A study of 430,000 adults showed that cannabis use was associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, highlighting the need to be aware of its cardiovascular effects. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
The more frequently you use cannabis, the more likely you are to experience adverse cardiovascular disease, a new study has found. American Heart Association Journal.
Research highlights:
- An analysis of survey data from 430,000 U.S. adults found that marijuana use was significantly associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, independent of tobacco use, and more frequent use ( It was found that adults (who use the product more days per year) are more likely to do so. Month). The most common way to use cannabis is to smoke it, then eat it or vaporize it.
- The increased risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke combined was similar to the risk among the subset of adults who had never used e-cigarettes but used cannabis.
An analysis of 430,000 U.S. adults found that cannabis use (most commonly by smoking, eating, or vaporizing) increased after controlling for smoking (combustible cigarettes and other tobacco products) use. It was also found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.Other cardiovascular risk factors, according to a new study published today American Heart Association Journalan open-access peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.
Cannabis, or marijuana, is illegal at the federal level, but 24 states and Washington, DC have legalized recreational use of cannabis. Additionally, the number of people who use cannabis in the United States has increased significantly in recent decades, according to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. According to the annual survey, 48.2 million people over the age of 12 reported using cannabis at least once in 2019, compared to 25.8 million people over the age of 12 in 2002, up from 11% to 17%. increased to
“Despite its common use, little is known about the risks of cannabis use, especially cardiovascular disease There are risks,” said Dr. Abra Jeffers, lead study author and data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “Awareness of the harms of smoking cannabis is decreasing, and people no longer believe that cannabis use is dangerous to their health. However, previous research has shown that cannabis may be associated with cardiovascular disease. In addition, smoking, the primary method of cannabis use, may pose additional risks due to the inhalation of particulate matter.
In this study, researchers reviewed survey data collected from 2016 to 2020 on 430,000 adults and found that cannabis use is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes such as heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. I investigated the relationship. Survey data were collected through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a national cross-sectional survey conducted annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers found that cannabis use is increasing among the general adult population, people who have never smoked or used e-cigarettes, and young adults (defined as men under 55 and women under 65). We specifically investigated whether it was associated with adverse cardiovascular effects. Heart disease risk. They also took into account the number of days per month that people used cannabis.
The analysis revealed the following:
- Cannabis use (smoked, eaten, or vaporized) is independently associated with increased adverse cardiovascular outcomes (coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke), with higher frequency of use (monthly (more days in the year) and the odds of an adverse outcome were equal. taller than. The results were similar even after controlling for other cardiovascular risk factors, including tobacco and e-cigarette use, alcohol consumption, BMI, type 2 diabetes, and physical activity.
- Both daily and non-daily cannabis users had a higher risk of heart attack than non-users. People who used cannabis daily were 25% more likely to have a heart attack than non-users.
- Daily cannabis users were 42% more likely to have a stroke than non-users, while those who used cannabis less than daily had a lower risk.
- Among young adults at risk for early-onset cardiovascular disease (defined as those under 55 years of age for men and those under 65 years of age for women), cannabis use was associated with a 36% higher chance of developing coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. was significantly associated with They also used traditional tobacco products. A separate analysis of a smaller subgroup of adults who had never smoked cigarettes or used nicotine e-cigarettes also found that cannabis use was associated with increased combined odds of coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. It was found that there was a significant relationship between
“Our sample was large enough to allow us to examine the association between cannabis use and cardiovascular disease in adults who had never used tobacco or e-cigarettes,” Jeffers said. Ta. “Cannabis smoke is not that different from cigarette smoke, except for the psychoactive drugs THC and nicotine. Our research shows that smoking cannabis, like smoking cigarettes, has significant cardiovascular risks. This is especially important as cannabis use is increasing and traditional tobacco use is decreasing.”
Research background and details:
- Study participants ranged in age from 18 to 74, with an average age of 45.
- Approximately half of the participants identified as women. 60.2% self-identified as White adults, 11.6% self-identified as Black adults, 19.3% self-identified as Hispanic adults, and 8.9% self-identified as other adults. .
- Almost 90% of adults never used cannabis. 7% used it less than daily. 4% were daily users. Among current cannabis users, 73.8% reported smoking as the most common form of cannabis consumption. Over 60% of all respondents had never used cigarettes. His 28.6% of daily cannabis users had never used cigarettes. 44.6% of non-daily cannabis users had never used cigarettes, and 63.9% of non-cannabis users had never used cigarettes.
This study had several limitations, including that cardiovascular disease and cannabis use were self-reported and could therefore be subject to recall bias (potential errors in memory). The authors did not have health data to measure participants' baseline lipid profiles or blood pressure. And this study only collected data from a single point in time for participants. The authors note that there is a need for prospective cohort studies, that is, studies that follow groups of individuals over time, to examine the association between cannabis use and cardiovascular disease outcomes, while taking into account the frequency of cannabis use. .
“The results of this study have huge implications for public health and should serve as a call to action for all health professionals. This study shows that cannabis use and cardiovascular disease are potentially dangerous “It adds to the growing body of literature that this combination may be the case,” said Robert L. Kennedy. Page II, PharmD, MSPH, FAHA, chair of the volunteer writing group for the 2020 American Heart Association Scientific Statement, “Medical Marijuana, Recreational Cannabis, and Cardiovascular Health.” Page is a professor of clinical pharmacy, medicine, and physical therapy at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, Colorado. Mr. Page was not involved in this study.
“In the population as a whole, the results of this study join other studies showing that daily cannabis use is associated with increases in heart attacks, strokes, and the combined endpoint of coronary heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. It's consistent,” he said. “As the legality and access to cannabis use continues to expand across the United States, practitioners and clinicians are encouraged to share and discuss decision-making in a non-judgmental manner about potential cardiovascular risks and how to reduce them. , we need to remember to assess cannabis use every time we see a patient.'' ”
References: “The Association between Cannabis Use and Cardiovascular Disease in U.S. Adults,” by Abra M. Jeffers, Stanton Glantz, Amy L. Byers, and Salome Keehani, February 28, 2024. American Heart Association Journal.
DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.123.030178
