Like bud heads give a shit
Findings suggest that no method of consumption is safer than another, indicating that more needs to be learned about the effect of use on cardiovascular health.
Canadian researchers looking at U.S. data found that adults under 45 years old who reported recently using cannabis were two times more likely to have had a heart attack.
Published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal , investigators considered data from 33,000-plus adults between the ages of 18 and 44 who had taken part in a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey. The study population was “younger adults in the community who aren’t at high risk of heart attack because of their age,” notes a press release .
Of the data of the people reviewed, 17.5 per cent said that they had consumed cannabis in the past 30 days.
Researchers found that myocardial infarction (MI) was reported in 1.3 per cent of cannabis users compared to 0.8 per cent of non-users. A history of MI was associated with cannabis use of more than four times per month and with smoking as a primary method of consumption, the study states .
The data also indicated the link between cannabis use and heart attack “was stronger in frequent users,” authors note in the press release.
Investigators acknowledge that with cannabis users more likely being male, smoking cigarettes, using e-cigarettes (vaping) and being heavy alcohol drinkers, these factors “may have contributed to their risk.” Even so, “these factors, plus other risk factors for myocardial infarction, were adjusted for in this analysis,” they add.
While smoking was the primary consumption method among those surveyed, representing 76.3 per cent of the total, vaping accounted for 11.3 per cent and other forms of consumption, including edibles, made up 12.4 per cent.
Perhaps surprisingly, the association between recent weed use and MI “was consistent across different forms of cannabis consumption, including smoking, vaporization and other methods such as edibles,” Dr. Karim Ladha, a clinician-scientist at Unity Health Toronto, says in the statement. “This suggests that no method of consumption is safer than another in this regard,” Dr. Ladha says.
“Although a similarly elevated odds of history of MI was observed across methods of recent cannabis consumption, only smoking as a primary method achieved statistical significance,” the study notes. “Smoking cannabis as a primary method of consumption may exacerbate this mismatch between myocardial oxygen supply and demand by reducing oxygen-carrying capacity and impairing myocardial oxygen delivery, potentially leading to MI.”
Dr. Ladha notes that cannabis use is increasing in young adults in North America.
Information released this spring by Statistics Canada notes about 20 per cent of Canadians 15 or older reported having used weed over the past three months. “This was higher than both the 14.0 per cent reporting use before legalization and the 17.5 per cent reporting use in the first months after the Cannabis Act was enacted,” it states.
In the U.S., the CDC reports “marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States, with approximately 22.2 million users each month.” Gallup noted in July 2019 that 12 per cent of polled U.S. adults said they smoke marijuana, a percentage that is essentially unchanged since 2015.
“Increasing cannabis use in an at-risk population could have negative implications for cardiovascular health,” the study cautions.
“As a young adult, it is important to be aware of the risks associated with cannabis use, especially in the current climate where we are exposed to a wealth of misinformation and non-evidence-based health recommendations,” adds Nikhil Mistry, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto.
Citing existing studies, “prevalence estimates of the primary method of cannabis consumption and the frequency of cannabis use are incompletely characterized, and the potential impact of these factors on the risk of MI remains undefined,” authors write. Additionally, earlier studies looking at the issue focused mostly on patients in hospital settings rather than young adults who use cannabis.
Dr. David Mazer, a clinician-scientist at Unity Health Toronto, emphasizes the need for young adults, physicians and other clinicians “to be aware of this potentially important relationship. Cannabis use should be considered in cardiovascular risk assessment.”
Further study exploring the association is needed, including that the most recent study offers “information on the relationship, but not biological mechanism,” for cannabis use and MI.
A recent study out of the University of Guelph found that consuming weed when young may increase the risk of later developing heart disease. And an analysis of Michigan patients who smoked cannabis and had had angioplasty found they also had a higher risk of stroke following the procedure.
www.thegrowthop.com
Findings suggest that no method of consumption is safer than another, indicating that more needs to be learned about the effect of use on cardiovascular health.
Canadian researchers looking at U.S. data found that adults under 45 years old who reported recently using cannabis were two times more likely to have had a heart attack.
Published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal , investigators considered data from 33,000-plus adults between the ages of 18 and 44 who had taken part in a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey. The study population was “younger adults in the community who aren’t at high risk of heart attack because of their age,” notes a press release .
Of the data of the people reviewed, 17.5 per cent said that they had consumed cannabis in the past 30 days.
Researchers found that myocardial infarction (MI) was reported in 1.3 per cent of cannabis users compared to 0.8 per cent of non-users. A history of MI was associated with cannabis use of more than four times per month and with smoking as a primary method of consumption, the study states .
The data also indicated the link between cannabis use and heart attack “was stronger in frequent users,” authors note in the press release.
Investigators acknowledge that with cannabis users more likely being male, smoking cigarettes, using e-cigarettes (vaping) and being heavy alcohol drinkers, these factors “may have contributed to their risk.” Even so, “these factors, plus other risk factors for myocardial infarction, were adjusted for in this analysis,” they add.
While smoking was the primary consumption method among those surveyed, representing 76.3 per cent of the total, vaping accounted for 11.3 per cent and other forms of consumption, including edibles, made up 12.4 per cent.
Perhaps surprisingly, the association between recent weed use and MI “was consistent across different forms of cannabis consumption, including smoking, vaporization and other methods such as edibles,” Dr. Karim Ladha, a clinician-scientist at Unity Health Toronto, says in the statement. “This suggests that no method of consumption is safer than another in this regard,” Dr. Ladha says.
“Although a similarly elevated odds of history of MI was observed across methods of recent cannabis consumption, only smoking as a primary method achieved statistical significance,” the study notes. “Smoking cannabis as a primary method of consumption may exacerbate this mismatch between myocardial oxygen supply and demand by reducing oxygen-carrying capacity and impairing myocardial oxygen delivery, potentially leading to MI.”
Dr. Ladha notes that cannabis use is increasing in young adults in North America.
Information released this spring by Statistics Canada notes about 20 per cent of Canadians 15 or older reported having used weed over the past three months. “This was higher than both the 14.0 per cent reporting use before legalization and the 17.5 per cent reporting use in the first months after the Cannabis Act was enacted,” it states.
In the U.S., the CDC reports “marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States, with approximately 22.2 million users each month.” Gallup noted in July 2019 that 12 per cent of polled U.S. adults said they smoke marijuana, a percentage that is essentially unchanged since 2015.
“Increasing cannabis use in an at-risk population could have negative implications for cardiovascular health,” the study cautions.
“As a young adult, it is important to be aware of the risks associated with cannabis use, especially in the current climate where we are exposed to a wealth of misinformation and non-evidence-based health recommendations,” adds Nikhil Mistry, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto.
Citing existing studies, “prevalence estimates of the primary method of cannabis consumption and the frequency of cannabis use are incompletely characterized, and the potential impact of these factors on the risk of MI remains undefined,” authors write. Additionally, earlier studies looking at the issue focused mostly on patients in hospital settings rather than young adults who use cannabis.
Dr. David Mazer, a clinician-scientist at Unity Health Toronto, emphasizes the need for young adults, physicians and other clinicians “to be aware of this potentially important relationship. Cannabis use should be considered in cardiovascular risk assessment.”
Further study exploring the association is needed, including that the most recent study offers “information on the relationship, but not biological mechanism,” for cannabis use and MI.
A recent study out of the University of Guelph found that consuming weed when young may increase the risk of later developing heart disease. And an analysis of Michigan patients who smoked cannabis and had had angioplasty found they also had a higher risk of stroke following the procedure.
Canadian study: Recent cannabis use linked to doubling of heart attack risk in those under 45
Findings suggest that no method of consumption is safer than another, indicating that more needs to be learned about the effect of use on cardiovascular health.
www.thegrowthop.com
