Cannabis & Heart Attacks

For many, cannabis use has taken the place that alcohol used to have when it comes to wanting a “downer”, that is to say, a drug that relaxes us as opposed to stimulating us.

Indeed, it is generally considered safer than alcohol ← however this is not a strong claim, because alcohol is much more dangerous than one would think given its ubiquity and (in many places, at least) social acceptability.

We’ve talked a bit about cannabis use before, in its various forms, for example:

Cannabis Myths vs Reality ← a very good starting point for the curious

And one specifically about the use of THC gummies (THC is the psychoactive compound in cannabis, i.e. it’s the chemical that gets people high, as opposed to CBD, which is not psychoactive) as a sleep aid:

Sweet Dreams Are Made of THC (Or Are They?)

And for those skipping the THC, we’ve also written about CBD use, including:

CBD Oil: What Does The Science Say? and Do CBD Gummies Work?

So, about cannabis and heart attacks

Alcohol is a relaxant, and yet it can contribute to heart disease (amongst many other things, of course):

Can We Drink To Good Health? ← this is mostly about red wine’s putative heart health benefits, how the idea got popularized, and how it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny when actually looking at the evidence.

And cannabis, another relaxant? Not so good either!

New research has shown that cannabis users have a higher risk of heart attacks, even among younger and otherwise healthy individuals. This is based on analyzing data from 4,636,628 relatively healthy adults.

Specifically, the data showed that even young healthy cannabis users get:

• Sixfold increased risk of heart attack
• Fourfold increased risk of ischemic stroke
• Threefold increased risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke

We mention the otherwise “relatively healthy” nature of the participants, because it’s important to note that less healthy people (who were perhaps using cannabis to self-medicate for some serious condition) were not included in the dataset, as it’d skew the data unhelpfully and it’d make the risk look a lot higher than the risk levels we mentioned above.

The mechanisms by which cannabis affects heart health are not fully understood, but hypotheses include:

• Disrupting heart rhythm regulation
• Increasing oxygen demand in the heart muscle
• Causing endothelial dysfunction, which affects blood vessel function

Further, heart attack risk peaked one hour after cannabis use, and while this doesn’t prove causality, it certainly doesn’t make cannabis look safe.

You can read the paper in its entirety here:

Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Risks Associated with Cannabis Use: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

Want a safer way to relax?

We recommend:

• No-Frills, Evidence-Based Mindfulness
• Meditation Games That You’ll Actually Enjoy
• Which Style Of Yoga Is Best For You?
• 7 Kinds Of Rest When Sleep Is Not Enough
• Better Sex = Longer Life (Here’s How)

Enjoy!