NIH-funded observational study shows risk grows sharply with more frequent use.
Frequent cannabis smoking may significantly increase a person’s risk for heart attack and stroke, according to an observational study supported by the National Institutes of Health. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, uses data from nearly 435,000 American adults, and is among the largest ever to explore the relationship between cannabis and cardiovascular events.
The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of NIH, found that daily use of cannabis — predominately through smoking — was associated with a 25% increased likelihood of heart attack and a 42% increased likelihood of stroke when compared to non-use of the drug. Less frequent use was also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Weekly users showed a 3% increased likelihood of heart attack and a 5% increased likelihood of stroke.
Around 75% of the study respondents reported that they mainly used cannabis by smoking the drug. Approximately 25% of the respondents reported using cannabis by some method other than smoking, such as vaping, drinking, or eating the drug.
Neat study. I hope they do one with just no smoking roas. I feel like the link between inhaling smoke and cardiac issues is well documented.
I haven’t gone through the particulars, but did they control for other life factors?
Things like wealth/poverty, additional substance use, pre-existing conditions, baseline health (fat/drinking/sedentary), bad dental hygiene, living near industrial sectors, all contribute heavily to heart attack/stroke
I’m not suggesting smoking weed (or anything) is ever going to improve cardiovascular health, but these studies often exclude some/all of these factors, and don’t control for cannabinoid effect and base results on people who smoke 1-10 joints a day
“Researchers note that while the exact mechanisms linking cannabis to heart disease are unclear and were not explored in the current study, multiple factors could play a role. In addition to toxins, endocannabinoid receptors — the part of cells responsible for recognizing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis — are widespread in the body’s cardiovascular tissues and might facilitate heart risks.”
So all this study is really saying is “inhaling smoke is bad and leads to increase in heart attack/stroke, which seems to hold true for Marijuana, as well as literally every other smoke tested”
Yeah, this is a self report survey so while they could control for social factors (in theory) they can’t determine whether it is cannabis specific chemicals vs general products of combustion. Maybe cannabinoids themselves cause problems but that is beyond the scope as your comment says. Fact is last time I looked there was still no consensus on harms related to nicotine absent smoking which there has been way more time to study.