Groundbreaking Study Reveals Daily Cannabis Use Increases Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
There’s new evidence to help clear the air on cannabis.
A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and funded by the National Institutes of Health found that those who smoke weed daily are at a significantly higher risk of suffering a heart attack and stroke than those who don’t.
The Harmful Effects of Daily Cannabis Use
“We know that toxins are released when cannabis is burned, similar to those found in tobacco smoke,” said Abra Jeffers, a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital. Jeffers, formerly a researcher at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, further emphasized that this study provides evidence that smoking cannabis is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States.
The research, conducted by analyzing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, involved 434,104 American adults aged 18 to 74, between 2016 and 2020. The findings revealed that daily cannabis users faced a 25% increased risk of heart attack and a 42% increased risk of stroke compared to non-users. Even non-daily users showed a higher likelihood of cardiovascular conditions.
The Growing Concern: Cannabis vs. Conventional Tobacco
Highlighting the concerning trend, Dr. Salomeh Keyhani, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and senior author of the study, stated, “Cannabis use is increasing in both prevalence and frequency, while conventional tobacco smoking is declining. Cannabis use may over time become the more important risk factor.”
Raising Concerns for Public Health
Considering heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for one in every five deaths, these findings warrant attention. Dr. David Goff, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, emphasized the importance of this study in public health efforts aimed at reducing the burden of heart disease in the country.
With the recent legalization of marijuana in New York and multiple states following suit, it becomes increasingly crucial to conduct further research and gain a comprehensive understanding of the health effects associated with cannabis use.
