Cannabis, beware of DIY. If used daily, coronary heart disease increases

Cannabis, beware of DIY.  If used daily, coronary heart disease increases

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‘Soft’ drugs put the heart at risk: one of the largest studies ever conducted to verify the correlation between the use of marijuana and the cardiovascular consequences shows that daily consumption increases the probability of coronary heart disease by 34% in subsequent years. The more sporadic use, monthly or weekly, increases it in a non-significant way but the survey, just presented during the annual conference of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans, is the umpteenth to warn against the cardiovascular dangers of substances of abuse because, as the cardiologists of the Italian Society of Cardiology underline.

Risk of stroke or heart disease

Drugs of any kind have been repeatedly associated with serious cardiovascular consequences: these data show that even a substance wrongly considered ‘light’ can lead to a greater risk of coronary artery disease and, over time, contribute to the occurrence of events such as heart attack or stroke.

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The study of 175,000 people

The study, coordinated by Stanford University in California, analyzed data from 175,000 people in 340 US centers participating in the All of Us Research Program of the National Institutes of Health. The researchers evaluated the correlation between the use of cannabis-derived products declared at the time of study entry and the frequency of the appearance of coronary artery disease in subsequent years, verifying that there is a dose-response effect whereby as use increases of marijuana increases the probability of cardiovascular problems.

“The results of the survey indicate a 34% increase in the risk of coronary heart disease with daily use compared to those who do not use cannabis, while sporadic monthly consumption is not associated with a significant increase – he explains Pasquale Perrone Filardi, president of SIC – These data demonstrate that there are damages related to the use of this substance that have not yet been studied sufficiently, which instead should be known. We know that with other drugs, such as cocaine, cardiovascular damage is frequent and serious, so much so that it has led to a significant increase in the number of heart attacks in very young people, even under the age of 40; these new findings are worrying, because they indicate that something similar could happen with the use of even more widespread drugs such as marijuana or cannabis-derived hashish”.

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What could happen? “We know – adds the expert – that in the heart and vessels there are receptors for tetrahydrocannabinol, the mediator of the psychoactive effects of cannabis, which by interacting with these receptors seems able to induce local inflammation and therefore favor the appearance of atherosclerotic plaques which can lead to coronary heart disease”.

The genome

The US study also carried out a genomic analysis of the participants to verify if there was an association between genetic traits that predispose to problematic cannabis use and cardiovascular disease. “The data demonstrate that there is a causal association: people genetically predisposed to a cannabis use disorder, in which consumption is daily and there is an obvious dependence, are more likely to have coronary heart disease, regardless of the ‘concomitant use of tobacco and/or alcohol – he adds Ciro Indolfi, past president of SIC, – Similar correlations had already emerged recently with a greater risk of cardiovascular problems such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke and pulmonary embolism and also important data indicating that the prolonged use of cannabis products is associated with a greater risk of atherosclerosis at ten years, especially in men. All of this points to the need to better study the mechanisms that may underlie cardiovascular damage from cannabis.”

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Boys are at risk

A problem especially among young people. “The use of these drugs is very common and often starts at a very young age – they conclude Perrone Filardi and Indolfi – These new data are worrying and make it necessary to disseminate more information on the consequences of the use of these drugs: those who use cannabis should speak to their doctor to monitor their cardiovascular health, possibly implementing risk reduction strategies in case of cannabis use disorder”.

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