Yet Another Study Finds Weed Is Bad for Your Heart

In recent years, the use of weeds with us, adults, has reached a top of all time. While many praise this drug as safe, natural and even medicinal, an increasing set of evidence suggests that it contributes to unwanted cardiovascular effects, including fatal heart disease.

A new study published in the journal Heart Tuesday, June 17, presents new evidence that marijuana uses doubles The risk of dying of cardiovascular diseases. Researchers found particularly increased risks of stroke and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) – a sudden reduction in blood flow to the heart, as a heart attack. While previous studies have linked cannabis to cardiovascular problems, this research highlights the severity of these risks. The authors note, however, that future studies will have to check this link and study the mechanisms behind.

The results can be a shock for those who consider grass as an harmless summit, but the co-author Emilie Jouanjus, clinical pharmacologist at the University of Toulouse in France, was not surprised. She has been studying the harmful effects on the health of marijuana for more than a decade and hopes that this study will promote better decision -making regarding the consumption of marijuana.

“I think it is very important that people realize that there is a risk, even if it is a natural product,” Jouanjus told Gizmodo. In the past decade, increased legal legalization has do The weeds more accessible and less stigmatized, contributing to an increase in recreational and medicinal use. Jouanjus and his colleagues argue that public health messaging should treat cannabis like tobacco – not criminalization, but actively highlighting its risks and its discouraging use.

The researchers analyzed 24 studies, carried out between January 2016 and December 2023, who studied the link between marijuana consumption and serious cardiovascular results. These studies involved around 200 million participants, mainly between 19 and 59 years old. They specifically examined the death of cardiovascular diseases and non -fatal results, including stroke and AC.

Analysis revealed that cannabis consumption increases the risk of 29% SCA, the risk of stroke of 20% and doubles the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease. While researchers say that their study provides an exhaustive analysis of the data available on marijuana consumption and cardiovascular disease, Jouanjus noted that the studies included were limited by a lack of data on the moment and the way participants were exposed to cannabis.

This leaves several important questions unanswered, as, what dose does cannabis become dangerous? Are cardiovascular risks lower for occasional marijuana consumers? Is consumption of edible products safer than smoking grass? Jouanjus hopes that future studies will explore these questions. Some researchers have already started, such as Matt Springer, cardiovascular researcher at the University of California San Francisco.

Springer co-wrote a recent study, published in the journal Jama cardiology in May, who found Smoking weeds and edible products increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The conclusion questions the widespread hypotheses that edible products are a less harmful means of consuming marijuana and highlights the alarmed cardiovascular effects of the drug.

Like Jouanjus, Springer was not surprised by the link between cannabis consumption and the death of cardiovascular disease. “It is In accordance with several reports in recent years, showing associations between cannabis consumption and various types of cardiovascular results, as well as another recent meta-analysis reported At [American College of Cardiology] Conference in March, “he told Gizmodo in an email. This study revealed that cannabis users are faced with a much higher risk of heart attack than non-users.

Springer’s latest study revealed that cannabis users have shown reduced blood vessel dilation, which presents them to a greater risk of heart attack and other poor cardiovascular results. In theory, this could contribute to the increased risk of death of cardiovascular diseases that Jouanjus and his colleagues have noted, he said, but researchers need more evidence to support this assertion.

There are also other potential mechanisms. Jouanjus underlined the previous research that find This, like tobacco, cannabis contributes to the accumulation of plaque in the walls of the artery. This increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and disease of peripheral arteries. She also pointed out that the psychoactive compound of marijuana – laterahydrocannabinol (THC) – is much more concentrated in cannabis products today than those of 20 years ago. This can also contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular death that she observed in her study.

While all these factors could influence the cardiovascular effects of Weed in a plausible way, reaching the bottom of the reasons for which this medication damaged heart health will require more research. In the meantime, Jouanjus believes that there is enough evidence to justify prudence and moderation when using marijuana. The public is well aware of the advantages of cannabis, but she hopes that her study will also be able to draw attention to her risks.

Springer agrees: “These reports in recent years, including ours and this document, indicate that cannabis is not necessarily harmless,” he said.