Perception of cannabis as a stigmatized drug
- Scientists from Pennsylvania, New York, and California have explored dozens of studies on the impact of marijuana on the heart in detail.
- Over 1200 people aged 20 and over took part.
Scientists have looked at more than a dozen studies of the effect of marijuana on the heart, and their outcome is far from convincing.
This finding contradicts the study published in August 2017, which claimed that marijuana users face a threefold higher risk of hypertension deaths than those who do not.
The August study had some major limitations, including the definition of anyone who ever tried the drug as a user.
The results were alarming. But as with any study, it had these key limitations, including the fact that it defined anyone as a "user" of anyone who had ever tried marijuana. More important, however, is the highlighting of a significant gap in the current understanding of cannabis science: How does it affect the heart drug?
In short, scientists do not know the overall impact of cannabis on cardiovascular health.
For a new study, researchers in California, Pennsylvania, and New York looked at dozens of studies on the effect of marijuana on the heart. is high cholesterol or high blood pressure - as well as links between marijuana and heart disease.
But they have found that all previous studies have problems. Some have examined only a small number of others, others have been short-lived and others have failed to test the right group of people, especially those who are most at risk under these conditions.
Thus, the researchers found a daunting conclusion: "Evidence to investigate the effect of marijuana on cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes is inadequate," they wrote.
This conclusion thus ridicules previous studies.
CWe know about marijuana and heart health
There are many reasons to be concerned about cannabis and its impact on our health. Yet in many areas of medicine there is a lack of comprehensive research to reach a conclusion.
Scientists know that marijuana use increases heart rate by 20 to 50 beats per minute, from 20 minutes to 3 hours. youit seems that it may affect the heart function, but we need more research again.
A recent extensive report from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that "lack of evidence" supports or refutes the idea that cannabis may increase the overall risk of a heart attack, although some restrictive evidence has also been found that drug use can be a trigger factor.
Another study, although very small, found an increase in blood pressure - but only when people using marijuana regularly stopped using the drug, not before.
This coincides with research from the Mayo Clinic, suggesting that cannabis use by may result in decreased and increased blood pressure.
In view of this, Francesca Filbey, Director of Cognitive Neuroscience Research on Addictive Disorders for the Health and Brain Center, told Business Insider in August that future studies should assess a wider range of factors associated with cannabis use and heart health. This may include weight, BMI, and use of other agents.
How single a study came to such a strong conclusion
So how is it possible that one study has reached such strong conclusions about drugs and our hearts when there is so much constraint on the subject? As it turned out, numerous factors have been unexceptionally evaluated, including the decision of the study authors to define as "regular" marijuana users any person who has ever tried cannabis.
More than 1,200 people aged 20 and over were selected for the study. haircutOne of the survey questions concerned whether they had ever used marijuana. People who answered "yes" were classified as marijuana users; those who answered "no" were classified as not using it. Scientists have processed this data and merged it with statistical evidence of death from various causes obtained from the US National Center for Health Statistics.
Statistical analysis suggests that scientists predicted marijuana users 3.42 times more likely to die of hypertension or because of high blood pressure than those who said they never used cannabis. This risk also seemed to increase by a factor of 1.04 with each "next year of use".
This is a fairly austere finding. However, in fact, more than half of Americans have tried cannabis, but in this study, half would be classified as "regular cannabis users". However, according to recent surveys, only a fraction of these people regularly use it.