Cannabis use may significantly increase our risk of heart attack and strokes, a study of 430,000 U.S. adults has found. This association was seen even after controlling for tobacco use and other cardiovascular risk factors.
Roughly 48.2 million Americans—about 15 percent of the total population—reported using cannabis at least once in 2019, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while the drug may still be illegal at a federal level, cannabis, aka marijuana, has been legalized for recreational use across 24 states and Washington D.C.
"Despite common use, little is known about the risks of cannabis use and, in particular, the cardiovascular disease risks," Abra Jeffers, a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in a statement. "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."
In a recent study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Jeffers and colleagues reviewed survey data from 430,000 adults across the U.S. from 2016 to 2020 to explore the association between cannabis use and adverse cardiovascular outcomes, including heart attacks and strokes.
The survey data was collected through a national, cross-sectional survey performed annually by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
From their analysis, the researchers found that any cannabis use, whether smoked, eaten or vaporized, was associated with a higher number of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. More frequent use was associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events, with daily cannabis users having 25 percent higher odds of having a heart attack compared to non-users. The odds of having a stroke, meanwhile, were 42 percent higher among daily cannabis users compared to non-users.
This pattern was still apparent despite the researchers controlling for other cardiovascular risk factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, BMI, physical activity and type 2 diabetes. Indeed, a separate analysis of adults who had never smoked tobacco or used nicotine e-cigarettes also showed a significant association between cannabis use and increased odds of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
"The findings of this study have very important implications for population health and should be a call to action for all practitioners, as this study adds to the growing literature that cannabis use and cardiovascular disease may be a potentially hazardous combination," Robert L. Page II, professor of clinical pharmacy, medicine and physical medicine at the University of Colorado, said in a statement.
"In the overall population, the study findings are consistent with other studies indicating that daily cannabis use was associated with an increase in heart attack, stroke and the combined endpoint of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. As cannabis use continues to grow in legality and access across the U.S., practitioners and clinicians need to remember to assess cannabis use at each patient encounter in order to have a non-judgmental, shared decision conversation about potential cardiovascular risks and ways to reduce those risks."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Pandora Dewan is a Senior Science Reporter at Newsweek based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on science, health ... Read more
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