Cannabis may have many benefits, but it is most definitely not so miraculous so as to improve heart function too. The plant that decreases blood pressure may actually be harmful for your heart. Scientists of a new study say that marijuana use shares a link with heart disease. According to it, about 2.3% of marijuana users have heart disease.
While the stat is small, it is not the first to indicate a negative link between cannabis and heart health. Furthermore, it is important since heart problems are among the top causes of death in the United States. Almost half of the American population has some form or stage of heart disease as it is. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology published this study.
What Did The Researchers Find?
Scientists conducted this study to see how many cannabis users also had cardiovascular disease. The team of authors analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for this purpose. They found that about 2 million people who used marijuana also had CVD between 2015 to 2016. Since these years, more people have started cannabis use with legalization so the numbers might have added up.
This hints that marijuana may have an adverse impact on heart health. Lead author of the study, Dr. Ersilia M. DeFilippis, also shared another concern. She said, “Notably, many of our cardiology patients are on medications that can interact with marijuana in unpredictable ways, depending on the formulation. This highlights that we need more data so that we can better counsel providers as well as patients.”
Previous Scientific Research
Some previous studies show that marijuana doesn’t do much good for cardiovascular health. Other studies do, however, show that it can help stroke patients. From what can be understood of these, cannabis use increases stroke risk but minimizes damage following stroke. This still needs more confirmation.
One recent study presented at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting said that weed use increases risk of stroke and arrhythmia. Another research work, that the JACC Cardiovascular Imaging journal published, found that cannabis impairs heart function.
However, scientists have not been able to give proper results. This is because in the US, they cannot conduct marijuana use related randomized control trials. Therefore, most studies are observational and those have limitations. If researchers are allowed to delve deeper we could have a more thorough and solid understanding of cannabis’ effect on cardiovascular health.
Verdict
Research is limited and poor on what effect cannabis has on heart health. However, several studies do show that it is not favorable for cardiovascular wellbeing. A new study says that 2.3% of marijuana users have heart disease. Other than this, cannabis also interacts with drugs for heart health which reasserts the importance of extending research in this area and providing better guidance to patients.
