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FRIDAY, Oct. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) – As marijuana use increases, Canada legalizes this drug only this week, a new study associating pot with an increased risk of stroke could make users wait.
The risk of stroke (cerebrovascular accident) could increase by 15% and that of ischemic stroke (29%), said Dr. Krupa Patel, principal investigator. She is a research physician at the Avalon University School of Medicine in Willemstad, Curaçao.
Patel warned that the study can not prove that marijuana use causes stroke, but only that both are associated.
"We can not establish a causal link, but we can say that recreational marijuana users are more at risk of stroke," she said.
In addition, the researchers do not know if the risk is related to the use of marijuana or its ingestion by other means, and if it depends on the amount of drug used or if it is due to d? other psychoactive ingredients mixed with marijuana.
Patel said the risk could be exacerbated by the chronic medical conditions of marijuana sufferers suffering from stroke, such as diabetes or obesity.
In addition, researchers could not tell from the data whether marijuana users were using other drugs such as cocaine or smoking tobacco, she said.
Nevertheless, stroke is more common among marijuana users than among non-users, which leaves open the question of what explains the increased risk.
"At this point, we can simply say that there is an increased risk," Patel said.
The best way to determine if marijuana is really associated with an increase in stroke is to participate in a clinical trial, said Dr. Thalia Field, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
"It is too early to say that it is causative," she said. "This has to be confirmed by other studies."
In this study, Patel and colleagues found that among more than 2.3 million American consumers of marijuana who were hospitalized for recreational purposes, the risk of stroke increased from people who did not use it.
Between 2010 and 2014, strokes among marijuana users have steadily increased, although the overall rate of strokes has remained unchanged, Patel said.
Of the marijuana users participating in the study, more than 32,000 had a stroke – of which about 19,500 had an ischemic stroke. Ischemic accidents occur when a clot blocks the blood vessels in the brain.
Over five years, the rate of all types of stroke increased from 1.3% to 1.5% among marijuana users and the ischemic stroke rate increased from 0.7% to 0.9% , found the researchers.
The increase in stroke among marijuana users has affected all age groups, from teens to 80, Patel said. In addition, the costs of caring for these patients increased between 2010 and 2014, from $ 71,000 to $ 92,000, she said.
The results were to be presented Friday at the World Stroke Congress in Montreal. Such research is considered preliminary until it is published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Paul Armentano, deputy director of the NORML marijuana advocacy group, said: "This finding is inconsistent with other population-based studies, which have not identified cannabis as an independent risk factor for cannabis. Stroke in younger subjects. "
NORML, however, acknowledges that data on this topic is evolving and that cannabis smoke can provoke a cardiovascular response, he added.
People with a history of heart disease or stroke may present an increased risk of unwanted side effects related to marijuana, especially smoked cannabis, acknowledged Armentano.
"As with any drug, people should consult their doctor before deciding whether the medical use of cannabis is safe and appropriate," he said.
More information
Visit the National Stroke Association for more information on stroke.
SOURCES: Krupa Patel, MD, Research Physician, Faculty of Medicine, Avalon University, Willemstad, Curacao; Paul Armentano, Deputy Director, NORML; Thalia Field, M.D., Assistant Professor, Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver; October 19, 2018, presentation, World Congress of Stroke, Montreal
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