Heart attack victims with a history of cannabis use are less likely to die in the hospital

A team of researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom assessed health outcomes in a cohort of nearly 10 million patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

They reported, “Cannabis use was associated with lower risks of cardiogenic shock, acute ischemic stroke, cardiac arrest, PCI [percutaneous coronary intervention] use, and in-hospital mortality.”

The conclusion is consistent with those of other studies finding that heart disease victims with a history of cannabis consumption possess greater in-hospital survival rates compared to controls. Other studies have similarly reported increased in-hospital survival rates among cannabis consumers suffering from cancer, COPD, gastroparesis, pancreatitis, HIV, burn-related injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and various other types of severe trauma.

  • The Picard Maneuver
    8•4 months ago

    The study’s authors concluded: “Among patients aged 18–80 years admitted to hospitals with AMI between 2001 and 2020 in the United States, cannabis use was associated with lower risks of complications, … as well as lower in-hospital mortality despite correcting for several confounding factors.

    I would hope that age was one of the factors corrected for, because the younger patients will likely be using cannabis at a higher rate than the older ones.

    If the majority of your “have used cannabis” group are pulled from patients in their 40s and 50s, for example, you’re probably going to see better outcomes compared to the control.

    • mad_asshatter
      6•4 months ago

      Weed’s been de facto legal in my neck of the woods for 40 years, and fully legal since 2018, and at 67 years of age I can unreservedly say I’ve consumed more weed in the past 15 years than I did between ages 13 to 30.

      Just saying that without a cite, we’re both anecdotal.