Cannabis and Cardiovascular Health RESEARCH REPORT by Chynna Jasmine Pearson
Cannabis has been medically legal in at least one state for well over a decade now. As cannabis is prescribed as a medicine for so many people, it is a common question for patients to wonder how cannabis and cardiovascular health interact.
T
he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that using cannabis can make the heart beat faster and make blood pressure higher immediately after use. “It could also lead to increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and other vascular diseases. Most of the scientific studies linking marijuana to heart attacks and strokes are based on reports from people who smoked marijuana (as opposed to other methods of using it).” Smoking cannabis has also been found to deliver many of the same substances as tobacco smoke. These substances are “harmful to the lungs and cardiovascular system. It is hard to separate the effects of marijuana chemicals on the cardiovascular system from those caused by the irritants and other chemicals that are present in the smoke.” Although more research is always needed on studies such as this, it is likely that using cannabis as an inhalant can negatively affect the consumers health.
In a different study with The National Library of Medicine, it was determined that due to the fact that cannabis is the most commonly used substance in the United States (and only growing in usage), investigating how cannabis fully affects the body is necessary. The NLM study focused on “peripheral arteritis, coronary vasospasms, and platelet aggregation; however, many of the acute and, more so, long-term potentially toxic effects of marijuana and THC still remain unknown.” The first illness studied is Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is when your blood vessels begin to narrow or develop blockages in the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lower extremities. PAD is mainly caused by the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries, this issue is called atherosclerosis. Although PAD is primarily found in the legs, it can happen in any blood vessel. Second is Coronary vasospasms (CAS). CAS is when your heart's arteries constrict suddenly, this causes spasms that might trigger bigger issues like a heart attack. Lesser symptoms of CAS are pain, pressure, and overall discomfort in the chest. This illness also creates a risk of dangerous heart rhythms, heart attacks, and even sudden death. These symptoms are due to the narrow blood vessels preventing the heart muscle from getting all the oxygen needed to perform correctly. Lastly, platelet aggregation is when your blood platelets do not clump together to form blood clots correctly. It is tremendously important for the human body to be able to do this correctly because without this function, you could bleed to death from a non-lethal wound. Each of these illnesses can be exacerbated, or potentially created, from inhalation of any type of smoke.
thechronicmagazine.com
FEBRUARY 2024
04
