Experts say marijuana is not heart health

Wednesday, August 05, 2020 (HealthDay News)-As the use of marijuana becomes more common, will heart problems continue?

Yes, I am alerting to a new statement by the American Heart Association (AHA).

A full understanding of how marijuana affects the heart and blood vessels remains limited by the lack of adequate research, but behind some chemicals in cannabis, especially THC, the marijuana “high” Chemicals are associated with an increased risk of heart attack, heart failure and atrial fibrillation, a statement said.

Marijuana is “just like any other drug,” said Robert Page, a professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of Colorado at Scuggs School of Pharmacy in Aurora, who wrote the statement. “Drugs have side effects, some of which can be the cardiovascular system, and we’re still trying to figure it out with cannabis.”

Page and some of his colleagues at the AHA Council and Committee reviewed the medical literature for evidence of the effects of marijuana on the heart.

They left because they feared that marijuana could affect the body in ways that could harm heart health.

In particular, THC interacts with receptors that activate the human sympathetic nervous system, Page said.

“It’s your “fighter” response,” Page explained. As a result, the heart may beat rapidly or irregularly, blood vessels may contract, and blood pressure may spike. Any condition that increases the risk of heart attack or stroke.

The way marijuana is consumed can also increase stress on the heart. Smoking pots have been shown to increase blood levels of carbon monoxide five-fold, and carbon monoxide has been associated with heart problems such as chest pain, heart attacks, and abnormal heart rhythms.

Reportedly, pot smokers also experience a three-fold increase in tar inhalation via partially burned plant material.

On the other hand, another major marijuana chemical, cannabidiol (CBD), may slow down heart rate, lower blood pressure, relax arteries, and reduce inflammation-may help heart health Everything.

But until we have better data on risks and benefits, “I definitely don’t recommend using marijuana,” said Dr. Joanna Contreras, Head of Heart Failure at Mount Sinai Centrouk and Mount Sinai West in New York. Said. city.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the marijuana support group NORML in Washington, DC, “has long understood that cannabinoids can have a variety of cardiovascular effects, so NORML consistently warns. “Patients with a history of cardiovascular disease, heart disease and stroke may also be at increased risk of experiencing the adverse side effects of marijuana, especially smoked cannabis,” he explained.

“However, a longitudinal study assessing long-term use of cannabis indicates that otherwise healthy subjects generally have a higher risk that those who consume cannabis will suffer from adverse cardiovascular events. Failed to show evidence” added Armentano.

In any case, AHA experts urged the US federal government to remove marijuana from the Schedule 1 drug list to allow scientists to broadly study it.

The report noted that 47 US states are now permitting some form of cannabis, making the federal ban on marijuana an unnecessary obstacle to research activities.

Page says, “We saw a huge rise in young adults using cannabis, especially during the COVID crisis. There isn’t much good data on the long-term effects that cannabis can have. From a health policy review, short-term and long-term studies are really needed to assess cannabis use.”

The U.S. government also needs to increase research funding for marijuana use, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration needs to create standardized labels for the amounts of THC and CBD in all legal cannabis products sold. There is.

The levels of these chemicals can vary significantly between marijuana products, Page noted.

“With the advent of the clinic, understand that this is not your grandfather’s marijuana,” Page said. “The products we might get from the clinic have a very high THC content.”

Page also emphasized that patients need to be transparent to their healthcare providers regarding their use, thus avoiding potential health problems and drug interactions.

The AHA statement was published online in the journal on August 5th. circulation..

For more information

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health effects of marijuana..