The consumption of marihuana is related to a greater risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases, as well as heart attacks and strokesaccording to the American Heart Association.
The organization, known as AHA by its acronym in English, warns this in two of the scientific statements published in 2020 and 2022. Marihuana for medical use, recreational cannabis and cardiovascular healthsignal that, If marihuana is useful, cannabis can be useful for treating some other medical conditions, it does not seem to have well-documented benefits for the prevention or treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVS).
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Indeed, the chemical substances in cannabis have been linked to a greater risk of suffering from heart attacks, heart failure and atrial fibrillation in observational studies.
Marihuana users may also have a greater risk of suffering a stroke caused by clots, according to the 2022 scientific statement, Use of marihuana: Effect on brain health. The studies cited in the statement determined that people who consumed marihuana had more strokes (between 17% and 24% more) compared to those who did not consume it.
There is limited information on the dangers of passive exposure to cannabis humus. Según los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades de EE. UU., THC can be transmitted to babies and children through second-hand humus.
“There is much confusion about the benefits and dangers of using marihuana, and a large part of it depends on the ingredients and the way in which the product is used”, declared Robert L. Page II, doctor of pharmacology and member of the AHA.
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“The most common chemicals that can be found in cannabis include el THC, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, the psychoactive component of the plant that induces a ‘high’, and the CBD, the cannabidiol, which can be bought without a prescription. These chemical substances can have opposite effects, since some studies suggest that CBD could reduce heart rate and blood pressure, while others have found that THC could increase them. Many products derived from marihuana are becoming increasingly potent with higher levels of THCwhich is very worrying”.
Marihuana smoking and inhaling, regardless of THC content, has been associated with heart muscle dysfunction, chest pain, heart attacks, heart rhythm changes, death from sudden cardiac arrest, and other serious cardiovascular illnesses.
According to the AHA, in the US states. UU. where cannabis has been legalized, there has been an increase in the number of hospitalizations and visits to emergency departments for heart attacks.
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“The way in which cannabis is consumed can make a difference in the way it affects the heart and blood vessels. Many people don’t realize that Cannabis humus contains components similar to tobacco humus”, explains Page, who is a professor at the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and at the Department of Medicine/Physical Rehabilitation at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado.
“If it has been demonstrated that smoking and inhaling cannabis, regardless of the THC content, increases the concentrations of toxic carbon monoxide and alcohol in the blood in a similar way to the effects of inhaling the humus of a tobacco cigarette.
Furthermore, there is limited information on the dangers of passive exposure to cannabis humus. Según los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades de EE. UU., the THC can be transmitted to babies and children through second-hand humus, and the people exposed to second-hand marihuana humo can experience psychoactive effects”.
Vaping THC is linked with self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety, even more than vaping nicotine.
Persons who reported consuming marihuana on a daily basis had a 34% greater chance of being diagnosed with coronary disease, compared to those who did not report cannabis use history.
What is there then of all the anecdotes and cases of people who use marihuana to relieve some illness? Page recommends that The people who choose to consume marihuana with medicinal or recreational purposes do the following:
- use soil legal cannabis products, because there are no controls on the quality or content of the cannabis products that are sold on the street.
- Bear in mind that the dose of cannabis administered via oral or topical administration can be quantified, so this possibly can reduce some of the potential damage with involuntary high doses.
- Be honest with medical staff about marihuana consumption in relation to your health in general, even when it can be a delicate subject, as it will help you better understand how it could interfere with prescribed medications or trigger conditions or cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes.
“Attitudes towards the recreational and medicinal use of marihuana are changing rapidly, and other states continue to advance towards its legalization,” said Page. “However, there is still much to know, and I urge anyone who currently consumes cannabis or is considering using it to act with extreme caution”.
In Ecuador, the crop, cultivation, production, industrialization, commercialization and exportation of non-psychoactive cannabis or so-called industrial cannabis, whose molecule of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is less than 1 %, was legalized in Ecuador in 2020. (I)
