Two new studies suggest that people who regularly use cannabis have a substantially higher risk of having a heart attack compared to people who do not use cannabis.
The two studies were a retrospective study of over 4.6 million people and a meta-analysis of twelve previously published studies that collectively included over 75 million people. The first study used electronic health records to compare the risk of heart conditions including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure over a three-year follow-up time for cannabis users and non-cannabis users. The second study pooled the data from the twelve studies to compare heart attack risk between cannabis users and non-users.
The results of the first study showed that cannabis users had six times the risk of having a heart attack, four times the risk of having a stroke, and two times the risk of developing heart failure compared to non-users. The second study found that active cannabis users had 1.5 times the risk of having a heart attack compared to participants who did not currently use cannabis.
The authors noted that some caution should be taken in the interpretation of these results, since cannabis is often used in conjunction with cocaine and other illicit substances that raise the risk of heart disease. While the mechanism behind the relationship between cannabis and heart disease is unknown, it may be related to heart rhythm regulation issues or problems with the contraction and expansion of blood vessels, which could affect blood flow. Previous studies have similarly shown that daily marijuana use is associated with a greater risk of coronary artery disease. Future research may include additional prospective studies that could help confirm these findings and determine which groups may have higher risk.
Sources: American College of Cardiology, Science Daily
