According to research released Friday by the American College of Cardiology, daily marijuana users have a one-third higher risk of developing the heart-related disease than those who have never used the substance.
Previous research on cannabis use and heart disease had been mixed, according to the study, which was presented at the organization’s annual Scientific Session Along With the World Congress of Cardiology.
Coronary artery disease, or CAD, is the most common type of heart disease and occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart narrow due to cholesterol buildup. Chest pain, breathing difficulty, and fatigue are common symptoms of the disease, which can lead to heart attacks.
“We found that cannabis use is linked to CAD, and there seems to be a dose-response relationship in that more frequent cannabis use is associated with a higher risk of CAD,” Ishan Paranjpe, a resident physician at Stanford University, said in a statement.
“In terms of the public health message, it shows that there are probably certain harms of cannabis use that weren’t recognized before, and people should take that into account,” Paranjpe said.
The researchers used data from the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program, which contains detailed information about the health and habits of 175,000 people. They began by identifying the link between cannabis use frequency and CAD rates.
The study’s lead author, Paranipe, and his colleagues used Mendelian randomization, a genetics-based approach, to find a link between cannabis use disorder and CAD risk using data from an independent genetics consortium.
Researchers said that cannabis use disorders are cognized psychiatric disorders involving frequent marijuana usage and dependency.
“After adjusting for age, sex and major cardiovascular risk factors, the results indicated that daily cannabis users were 34% more likely to have CAD than those who have never used marijuana.” the study said.
“In contrast, monthly cannabis use was not associated with a significant increase in the risk of CAD. The Mendelian randomization analysis suggested that this was due to a causal relationship, finding that people with cannabis use disorder were more likely to develop CAD.”
The study also discovered that this causal relationship was independent of the potential confounding effects of tobacco and alcohol use in a genetic analysis.
Researchers recommend that cannabis users inform their doctors about their marijuana usage when having their heart conditions monitored because it may play an important role in their treatment.
“Previous studies have suggested that tetrahydrocannabinol, the molecule responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis, acts on receptors that are found in the central nervous system and in the heart and blood vessels,” the study said.
