Due to the stress and boredom caused during the confinements or confinements by COVID-19 in the world, many citizens were inclined to smoke marijuana (or more) and a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal , shows that the Young cannabis users are twice as likely to have a heart attack.
Thus, myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, was more prevalent in American adults under 45 years of age who smoked, vaporized or consumed cannabis introduced into food (such as a brownie), compared to non-users. Cannabis refers to the psychoactive substance in the Cannabis sativa plant, whose psychoactive chemical is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, according to the World Health Organization.
“Beyond the main finding that heart attacks were more common among cannabis users, what we did find is that the more people consume, the greater the risk,” said Karim Ladha, clinical scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and co-author of the work.
Canadian researchers analyzed the heart attack history compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with more than 33,000 adults ages 18 to 44 (between 2017 and 2018). Nearly one in five of these young adults reported using cannabis, and this group was twice as likely to have suffered a heart attack. Overall, 1.3% of cannabis users had suffered a heart attack, compared to 0.8% of non-users.
Heart attacks were more common in those who used cannabis at least once a week, and the risk was the same regardless of whether it was consumed through cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or edibles. “This suggests that no method of consumption is safer than another in this regard, ” the authors clarify.
The experts found that smokers were more likely to have an enlarged left ventricle, the main pumping chamber of the heart. As its walls thicken, less blood can be carried through the body, which researchers say can increase the risk of strokes. The study found that regular cannabis smokers also had impaired heart function, with evidence showing that their muscle fibers warped every time their hearts contracted.
“With recent legalization and decriminalization, cannabis use is increasing among young adults in North America, and we are not fully aware of its effects on cardiovascular health,” says Ladha. “We found an association between recent cannabis use and myocardial infarction, which persisted in a series of robust sensitivity analyzes.”
Some people assume that using cannabis is safe and cannot harm your body, but that is incorrect , says Ladha, who cautions that “there is growing evidence that using it could be potentially harmful to the user, both in the short and long term.” .
Cannabis users were more likely to be men, single, cigarette and e-cigarette smokers, and heavy alcohol drinkers, the data showed.
Referencia: Karim Ladha, MD, MSc, anesthesiologist and assistant professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Canada; Mitch Earleywine, PhD, professor, psychology at the State University of New York at Albany; Scott Krakower, DO, attending psychiatrist, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, N.Y.; Canadian Medical Association Journal, Sept. 7, 2021
