A new study indicated that using marijuana every day can increase a person’s risk of coronary artery disease, or CAD, by one-third compared to never using it.
“A growing body of evidence suggests that cannabis is not entirely without harm and may actually cause cardiovascular disease,” stated main study author Dr. Ishan Paranjpe, a Stanford University resident physician.
Marijuana Consumption
The study, which has yet to be published, will be presented Sunday at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting.
Plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries that deliver blood to the heart causes coronary artery disease. According to the United States, CAD, also known as atherosclerosis, is the most common type of heart disease. The CDC stands for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study gathered information from participants in the All of Us Research Program. The program, which is run by the National Institutes of Health, is intended to collect health data from one million or more people in the United States over time.
They discovered that daily cannabis users were 34% more likely to be diagnosed with coronary artery disease than non-users.
The study discovered that people who smoked marijuana once a month or fewer had no substantial risk.
The findings stayed true even after researchers controlled for age, gender, and significant cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, obesity, smoking, and alcohol consumption.
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Cannabis And Heart Disease
The American Heart Association stated in 2020 that smoking or vaping any substance, including cannabis, should be avoided due to the risk of injury to the heart, lungs, and blood vessels.
The AHA’s subsequent guidelines pointed to studies that revealed heart rhythm abnormalities, such as tachycardia and atrial fibrillation, could arise within an hour after smoking marijuana containing delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
The new study builds on the findings of a 2022 study led by Stanford researchers, which discovered that THC caused inflammation in endothelial cells in the lab. These are the cells that line our blood vessels, and when they get inflamed, our risk of having a heart attack increases significantly.
“Marijuana has a significantly adverse effect on the cardiovascular system,” stated Mark Chandy, co-lead author of that study at the time.
The present researchers believe that the findings could help them better understand and treat cardiovascular disorders now that the relationship between marijuana usage and heart disease has been established.
The study did not differentiate between marijuana consumption techniques, such as when it is smoked as a plant or ingested as an edible or tincture, but the researchers believe that separating those distinctions may be a helpful course of action for future endeavors. There was no discernible increase in CAD in drug users who used it only once a month.
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