‘Just like smoking tobacco’: Cannabis use increases stroke risk by 42%, heart attack risk by 25%
Regular cannabis use is associated with several significant cardiovascular risks, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.[1]
With more and more states legalizing recreational cannabis, the study’s authors hoped to learn more about its long-term impact.
“Despite common use, little is known about the risks of cannabis use and, in particular, the cardiovascular disease risks,” lead study author Abra Jeffers, PhD, MS, a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in a statement from the American Heart Association. “The perceptions of the harmfulness of smoking cannabis are decreasing, and people have not considered cannabis use dangerous to their health. However, previous research suggested that cannabis could be associated with cardiovascular disease. In addition, smoking cannabis—the predominant method of use—may pose additional risks because particulate matter is inhaled.”
Jeffers et al. explored data from 430,000 U.S. adults who responded to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services survey from 2016 to 2020. The average age was 45 years old.
Overall, the group found that cannabis use has nearly doubled in the last two decades, and using it with any frequency was independently associated with a heightened risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes such as coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke.
Daily cannabis users face a 25% higher risk experiencing a MI, for example, and a 42% higher risk of experiencing a stroke. Even non-daily users saw their MI risk increase, the authors noted, highlighting the potential impact of even experimenting with cannabis.
“Our sample was large enough that we could investigate the association of cannabis use with cardiovascular outcomes among adults who had never used tobacco cigarettes or e-cigarettes,” Jeffers explained. “Cannabis smoke is not all that different from tobacco smoke, except for the psychoactive drug THC vs. nicotine. Our study shows that smoking cannabis has significant cardiovascular risk risks, just like smoking tobacco. This is particularly important because cannabis use is increasing, and conventional tobacco use is decreasing.”
“There is a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry that markets cannabis use as not only harmless, but good for you,” co-author Salomeh Keyhani, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, said in a separate statement. “It can be a challenging discussion to have with patients because there is evidence that cannabis has some therapeutic properties. However, as suggested by this study, cannabis use also has significant cardiovascular risks.”
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Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.