“Marijuana’s cardiovascular effects are not associated with serious health problems for most young, healthy users, although occasional myocardial infarction, stroke, and other adverse cardiovascular events are reported.”
You may have heard biased sources claim that “smoking marijuana can give you a heart attack.” Remember: despite the sedative, relaxing effects of Cannabis, it actually increases your heart rate. This increases your heart’s need for oxygen, which may result in a heart attack if your coronary arteries are blocked or narrowed. However, the risk, it turns out is rather small, and applies mostly to people who have known heart disease.
One study, published in Circulation in 2001, found that marijuana may increase the risk of heart attack (myocardial infarction) but only among who are already predisposed toward cardiovascular problems like coronary artery disease. Even marijuana use was described as a “rare trigger” for myocardial infarction. Realistically, vigorous physical activities like sex or jogging are more likely to induce heart attacks than Cannabis use.
then, marijuana use was described as a “rare trigger” for myocardial infarction. Realistically, vigorous physical activities like sex or jogging are more likely to induce heart attacks than Cannabis use.
And, to reiterate an important risk factor, it’s primarily individuals with heart disease who should be concerned about adverse cardiovascular events. As a 2002 study published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology rightly pointed out, “Marijuana’s cardiovascular effects are not associated with serious health problems for most young, healthy users, although occasional myocardial infarction, stroke, and other adverse cardiovascular events are reported.”
The question then becomes, how often is “occasional”?
The question then becomes, how often is “occasional”?
What is the Likelihood of Suffering a Heart Attack from Using Cannabis?
According to the Circulation study, in which 3,882 patients (68% male, 32% female) were interviewed an average of four days after experiencing a heart attack, only 124 – less than 4% – reported using marijuana during the past year. From that already narrow sample, only nine people – less than 8% of the marijuana group, and just 0.2% of the study sample overall – reporting using within the hour their heart attack symptoms started. The study determined that the risk of having a heart attack within an hour of using marijuana was 4.8 times greater than normal, but that “the elevated risk rapidly decreased thereafter.”
KNOWLEDGE
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