Marijuana May Be Harmful For Heart Patients, But Improves Some Risk Factors, Studies Find



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There is more evidence that smoking marijuana can be dangerous for people with heart disease, according to two new studies recently presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. But in an unexpected twist, people who used cannabis were less likely to suffer from sudden kidney failure, the researchers found.

Patients who smoked marijuana and underwent angioplasty to clear blocked arteries were more likely to have a stroke and bleeding after the non-surgical procedure than those who did not use a pot, according to one study. The second study found that patients who survived a heart attack and used marijuana were more likely than those who did not use cannabis to have a subsequent heart attack. Both studies were published on Monday.

“Marijuana is increasingly accessible and patients should be aware of the increased risk after [angioplasty]Said lead author of the study, Dr. Sang Gune Yoo, an internal medicine resident at the University of Michigan. “While these are risks to be aware of, they should not deter patients from getting this vital procedure.”

In fact, four other states legalized recreational marijuana in the 2020 election, bringing the total to 15 plus the District of Columbia. Additionally, 34 states, plus DC, have made medical marijuana legal.

The new findings are another example of why we need more studies on the effects of cannabis on the health of the heart and the rest of the body, Yoo said, noting that its classification by the federal government as that Schedule 1 drug has hampered scientific research. .

The research is particularly relevant to older Americans. Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 805,000 Americans have a heart attack each year. The majority, or 605,000, have first-time heart attacks. Each year, hundreds of thousands of patients in the United States undergo coronary angioplasty – a procedure for blocked arteries that improves blood flow to the heart, according to the American Heart Association. Many of these patients also receive stents, a small wire mesh tube that helps keep the artery open.

To take a closer look at the impact of marijuana on angioplasty outcomes, Yoo and colleagues looked at data from 113,477 Michigan patients, of whom 3,970 identified as marijuana users. After matching 3,903 users with 3,903 non-users, the researchers found that more pot smokers had bleeding (5.2% vs. 3.4%) and strokes (0.3% vs. 0.1%).

One interesting finding that the authors couldn’t explain was that marijuana users were less likely to experience sudden kidney failure.

Is it THC or smoke?

In the other study, which analyzed information from a national database, researchers found that among patients who had undergone an artery cleansing procedure after a heart attack, those who used marijuana had a higher rate of subsequent heart attacks than those who did not use cannabis, 7.2% vs. 4.5%. This study also made an interesting discovery: Risk factors for heart attacks – including hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol – were significantly lower in cannabis users.

Experts contacted by NBC News had mixed reactions to the new reports.

“I have spent the past 25 years studying the effects of marijuana and THC [the psychoactive component in cannabis], and I think the Yoo study raises some important questions, especially as we have seen more and more reports of cardiovascular events occurring in the context of marijuana, ”said Dr Deepak Cyril D’Souza , professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. “It’s an interesting article.”

One question the study cannot answer is whether the increased risks come from marijuana, the THC in marijuana, or the smoke from burning a herbal product, D’Souza said. .

“In our studies on THC, we found a very robust increase in heart rate and an effect on blood pressure that can be quite profound,” D’Souza said, adding that blood pressure increased in people who were lying down. “Our studies generally included healthy and young people. If you extrapolate to an older person who has cardiovascular or other medical problems, it could be problematic for them to use marijuana. “

Looking at the totality of the two studies, they appear to contain conflicting results, said Dr Peter Grinspoon, cannabis expert, instructor at Harvard Medical School and member of the board of directors of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation. On the one hand, said Grinspoon, researchers are reporting an increase in strokes, bleeding and second heart attacks in people who use cannabis, but on the other hand, they are reporting improvements in cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes.

Grinspoon was particularly struck by the lower rate of kidney failure among those who used marijuana in the Yoo study.

“By their measurements, they actually showed that cannabis reduces kidney damage, which should be a headline in itself,” he said.

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