Smoking Weed Is Not At All Good For Cardiac Health: American Heart Association

Smoking marijuana in any form can seriously damage the heart and lead to fatal cardiac events, a new statement released by the Americal Heart Association (AHA) suggests.

According to AHA's new scientific statement on marijuana published in the journal Circulation, cannabis is not good for heart health. The statement published by the AHA is based on the review of the previous studies conducted to examine the connection between the heart and cannabis.

"The American Heart Association recommends that people not smoke or vape any substance, including cannabis products, because of the potential harm to the heart, lungs and blood vessels," said Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, medical officer at the AHA.

According to clinical pharmacologist Robert Page II, who based his statement on research, cannabis has the potential to interfere with the interaction of certain prescription medicines. Additionally, it has been found to "trigger cardiovascular conditions or events, such as heart attacks and strokes."

Page suggests that anyone who plans to use marijuana should first discuss it with their physician. He further said that if someone decides to use it for recreational or medicinal purposes, it is better to use oral or topical versions as dose can be measured to minimize potential harm, as compared to smoking.

"It is also vitally important that people only use legal cannabis products because there are no controls on the quality or the contents of cannabis products sold on the street,” he said.

Some of the studies reviewed by the team suggested the people may experience heart rhythm abnormalities, such as tachycardia and atrial fibrillation within one hour of smoking pot containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is a psychoactive substance that gives the “high.”

Some studies suggest that THC can contribute to faster heart rate and blood pressure while increasing the heart’s need for oxygen.

Page emphasized that there is an urgent need to conduct large observational studies to explore the connection between cannabis and its effects on health as a majority of the ones conducted before are "short-term, observational and retrospective studies, which identify trends but do not prove cause and effect."