“Soft” drugs put a strain on the heart: One of the largest studies ever conducted to examine the link between marijuana use and cardiovascular outcomes shows that daily use increases the likelihood of developing coronary artery disease by 34 percent in subsequent years % elevated . More sporadic use, monthly or weekly, does not increase it in significant ways, but the survey, just presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting in New Orleans, warns again of the cardiovascular dangers of substances of abuse because — as cardiologists of the Italian Society of Cardiology (Sic) emphasize – “Drugs of any type have been repeatedly associated with serious cardiovascular consequences: these data show it even a substance that is mistaken for “soft” can lead to an increased risk of coronary artery disease and, over time, contribute to the occurrence of events such as heart attack or stroke“.
The study, coordinated by the University of Stanford in California – reports a note – analyzed data from 175,000 people at 340 US centers, participants in the All of us research program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Researchers assessed the correlation between declared use of cannabis-derived products at the time of entry into the study and incidence of coronary artery disease in subsequent years, and confirmed that there is a dose-response effect, with use increasing with increasing use Increasing use of marijuana increases the likelihood of cardiovascular problems.
“The results of the survey show a 34 percent increase in the risk of coronary artery disease with daily use compared to people who do not use cannabis, while sporadic monthly use is not associated with a significant increase,” explains Pasquale Perrone Filardi, President of sic . “These data show that there are harms associated with the use of this substance that have not been adequately studied that should instead be known.”
“We know that with other drugs, for example cocaine – explains Perrone Filardi – cardiovascular damage is common and severe, so much so that it has led to a significant increase in the number of heart attacks in the very young, even under the age of 40 ; “This new evidence is worrying because it suggests that something similar could happen with the use of even more common drugs like marijuana or cannabis-derived hashish,” he warns. “After all, we know it’s in the heart and vessels There are receptors for tetrahydrocannabinol, the mediator of the psychoactive effect of cannabis, which, by interacting with these receptors, seems capable of triggering local inflammation and thus favoring the appearance of atherosclerotic plaques that can cause coronary artery disease”.
The US study also performed a genomic analysis of participants to determine if there is an association between genetic traits predisposing to problematic cannabis use and cardiovascular disease. “The data support a causal relationship: people with a genetic predisposition to a cannabis use disorder, where use is daily and there is an apparent dependence, are more likely to have coronary artery disease/or alcohol regardless of ‘concomitant tobacco use’,” adds Ciro Indolfi, former President of Sic. “Recently – he recalls – similar correlations with a higher risk of cardiovascular problems such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke and pulmonary embolism have already emerged, as well as important data pointing to them that prolonged use of cannabis products is associated with a greater 10-year risk of atherosclerosis, particularly in men. All of this points to the need to better understand the mechanisms that may underlie cardiovascular damage from cannabis.”
“The use of these drugs is widespread and often begins at a very young age. This new data is worrying – conclude Perrone Filardi and Indolfi – and calls for the dissemination of more information on the consequences of consuming these drugs: those who use cannabis should talk to their doctor about it to monitor their cardiovascular health and possibly adopt strategies to implement risk reduction in the event of cannabis use disorder”.