Cannabis raises risk of deadly condition that’s on the rise in young people, major analysis finds
Young people who use cannabis have six-times the risk of a heart attack compared to those who never or rarely do, the largest study of its kind has revealed.
The drug — which is legal in 39 US states — was also seen to increase the chances of suffering a deadly stroke four-fold, and double the risk of heart failure.
The authors of the analysis, which followed 4.6million patients over three years, said the public ought to consider cannabis use alongside obesity and family history as major risk factors for poor heart health.
‘A fair warning should be made so that the people who are consuming cannabis know that there are risks,’ said lead author Dr Ibrahim Kamel from Boston University.
It is thought that THC — the ingredient in cannabis responsible for the ‘high’ — can trigger the body’s fight-or-flight response, which raises heart rate and blood pressure, wearing away at the heart over time.
The findings echo previous research that suggested users are at least a third more likely to suffer from heart disease.
Worryingly, the increased risk was observed in patients under the age of 50 — a group typically considered to be at low risk of heart problems.
For the study, researchers analysed patient data from a global medical database, and looked for patterns between cannabis use and cardiovascular events.
Using cannabis could increase the risk of heart attacks six-fold among young people, a major evidence review suggests
The authors also conducted a seperate, larger analysis, examining data from previous international studies on cardiovascular risks and cannabis use involving 75million patients.
This data revealed a lower, but still significant, increased risk of heart attack with cannabis users at 50 per cent higher risk compared to non-users.
The risk of a heart attack related to cannabis was found to be highest an hour after consumption.
‘Asking about cannabis use should be part of clinicians’ work to understand patients’ overall cardiovascular risk, similar to asking about smoking cigarettes,’ said Dr Kamel.
However, the researchers said further research is needed to confirm the findings.
They noted the patient data analysed didn’t record important factors such as duration or amount of cannabis used.
It also did not monitor other drugs participants may have been using at the same time, all of which could potentially influence heart risk.
Dr Kamal said: ‘Cannabis consumption is usually associated with other substances such as cocaine or other illicit drugs that are not accounted for.’
The full results of Dr Kamal’s analyses have yet to be published and are due to be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in Chicago later this month.
In the UK, laws regarding the medical use of cannabis were relaxed almost seven years ago. However non-medical use remains illegal.
It is only available on the NHS under strict guidelines to help control epileptic seizures, for chronic pain and to those with the degenerative condition multiple sclerosis.
However, only about 100 prescriptions have been issued in the past five years.
Annual figures from the Office for National Statistics show cannabis remains the most popular drug among 16 to-59-year-olds in England and Wales.
Meanwhile, in the US, the drug has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past decade, culminating in legal recreational use in 24 states, and permitted medical use in 39.
Other studies have also linked cannabis use to serious mental health problems, including schizophrenia and depression.
While some warning signs are easy to spot — such as severe chest pain — others are more vague and hard to pinpoint
Charities estimate that there are around 100,000 hospital admissions each year in the UK due to heart attacks, equivalent to one every five minutes.
Cardiovascular disease is one of Britain’s biggest killers, causing 170,000 deaths each year, an average of 480 per day.
In the US, just over 800,000 Americans has a heart attack each year, about one every 40 seconds.
American fatalities from heart disease are estimated to be 702,880 per year, accounting for one fifth of all deaths.
The new research follows a concerning and mysterious rise in cases of stroke among under 50s in both the US and the UK.
MailOnline analysis conducted late last year found the strokes among men aged under 39 have jumped by nearly a quarter over the last two decades.
Across the Atlantic, American officials have noted a 15 per cent rise in strokes among under 45s within the last decade.
A similar rise has been seen in heart attacks among young adults.
In Britain, official data for 2023 shows cases have nearly doubled in a decade among those in their 20s, while rates have risen by a quarter among the under 40s as a whole.
American data shows the percentage of adults aged 18-44 suffering a heart attack has risen from 0.3 per cent to 0.5 per cent, a rise of 66 per cent, in just four years.
Factors like rising obesity rates, the impact of Covid infections on heart health, and a potential rise in depression, anxiety and stress during pandemic lockdowns are some reasons experts have blamed for the increase.
Top cardiologists have said fears that Covid vaccines may have fuelled the increase are way off the mark.
