March 5, 2024 — Frequent smoking of marijuana may significantly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to an observational study supported by the National Institutes of Health. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, used data from approximately 435,000 American adults and is one of the largest ever to examine the relationship between cannabis and cardiovascular events.

The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the NIH, found that daily cannabis use, primarily through smoking, increased the chance of a heart attack by 25% and increased the chance of a heart attack by 42%. was found to be associated with an increase in Reduction in strokes compared to not using the drug. Infrequent use was also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Weekly users showed a 3% increased chance of having a heart attack and a 5% increased chance of having a stroke.

Approximately 75% of study respondents reported using cannabis primarily by smoking. About 25% of respondents reported using cannabis in some way other than smoking, such as vaping, drinking, or eating.

“We know that when cannabis is burned, it releases toxins similar to those found in cigarette smoke,” said corresponding author Avra, a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a former Tobacco Center researcher.・Dr. Jeffers said. He conducted the research as part of his postdoctoral research in control research and education at the University of California, San Francisco.

“While it has long been known that cigarette smoking is associated with heart disease, this study shows that cannabis smoking also appears to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. That’s the evidence,” Jeffers said. “Cannabis use may be an important but underappreciated cause of heart disease.”

The researchers note that the exact mechanism linking cannabis and heart disease is unclear and was not investigated in the current study, but multiple factors may be involved. In addition to toxins, endocannabinoid receptors (some of the cells responsible for recognizing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis) are widely present in the body’s cardiovascular tissues and promote heart risks. There is likely to be.

Government research on drug use and health shows that negative perceptions of cannabis use have decreased and cannabis consumption has increased significantly across the country over the past two decades. Marijuana is currently legal in 38 states for medical use in the United States and for recreational use in 24 states. Some studies have linked regular use to impaired brain development, lung damage, and even certain cardiovascular diseases. However, there are gaps in knowledge about the negative effects of cannabis on the heart.

To take a closer look at the link between cannabis use and health, Jeffers and his research team used data from 2016 to 2020 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. The CDC’s annual national cross-sectional survey included 434,104 adults ages 18 to 74 living in 27 U.S. states and two territories. Most respondents were white (60%), but approximately 12% were black, 19% were Hispanic, and 9% were other races/ethnicities.

Researchers investigated the prevalence of marijuana smoking (the number of days participants said they smoked marijuana in the past 30 days) and self-reported risk factors, including coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and a composite measure of all three. Associations with cardiovascular outcomes were assessed. They controlled for participants’ tobacco use and other characteristics such as age, gender, race, BMI, obesity, diabetes, physical activity level, and socioeconomic status.

“This is an important public health discovery, especially given our continued efforts to reduce the burden of heart disease in this country,” said Dr. said David C. Goff, MD.

“Ask patients about marijuana use during routine check-ups and physical exams, just as they are asked about tobacco use, can help us learn more about the long-term effects of marijuana on the body. Deaf,” Jeffers said.

This research was primarily funded by NHLBI under grant 1R01HL130484-01A1, with additional support from National Cancer Institute grant T32 CA113710. For a more complete funding disclosure and list of authors, please see the full JAHA research article.

For more information, visit www.nih.gov.