Cannabis smoking tied to higher risk of heart attack and stroke: study

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WASHINGTON, Feb 29, (Agencies): A recent study, released on February 28 in the Journal of the American Heart Association and funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), suggests a heightened risk of heart attack and stroke associated with cannabis smoking. The study analyzed data from 430,000 adults aged 18-74 between 2016 and 2020, sourced from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Findings indicated that three-quarters of the participants had engaged in past cannabis consumption, primarily through smoking, while the remaining one-fourth reported alternative methods such as vaping or ingestion. Notably, cannabis holds legal status for medicinal use in 38 states and for recreational purposes in 24 states.

Abra Jeffers, a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital and former researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, emphasized the release of toxins during cannabis combustion similar to those found in tobacco smoke. Jeffers, who conducted the study during her postdoctoral work, remarked, “We’ve known for a long time that smoking tobacco is linked to heart disease, and this study is evidence that smoking cannabis appears to also be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States.”

Alarming statistics emerged from the data analysis, revealing that heavy cannabis users face a 25% higher likelihood of experiencing a heart attack and a 42% higher likelihood of stroke compared to non-users. Even weekly cannabis use corresponds to a 3% higher risk of heart attack and a 5% higher risk of stroke.

Despite these findings, researchers acknowledge the unclear nature of the precise mechanism underlying the increased risk, prompting a call for further investigation. David C. Goff, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, emphasized the significance of this public health discovery, particularly in the context of ongoing efforts to reduce the burden of heart disease in the United States.

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