Urgent warning to cannabis smokers as habit ‘increases risk of silent killer by a third’
SMOKING cannabis every day increases the risk of heart disease disease, a study claims.
Heavy users of the Class B drug boosted the chances of developing the deadly condition by more than a third, compared to people who never smoke it.
Researchers tracked medical records of more than 175,000 adults in the US and cross-referenced them with surveys about marijuana use.
Dr Ishan Paranjpe, of Stanford University, said people who smoked the drug daily increased their risk of coronary artery disease.
He said: “It shows that there are probably certain harms of cannabis use that weren’t recognised before, and people should take that into account.”
Around 2.3million people in Britain and 18.2million in the US live with coronary artery disease.
It is the most common form of heart disease and happens when the arteries supplying blood to the heart become narrowed due to a buildup of cholesterol.
The condition causes chest pain, shortness of breath and fatigue and can lead to a heart attack.
Around 7.5million Brits aged 16 to 59 are thought to have used cannabis at least once, according to World Health Organization figures.
Office for National Statistics data suggest 11 per cent of adults who did the drug last year used it daily.
Previous studies have found cannabis use can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and other heart problems, especially in younger people.
The latest research, presented at the American College of Cardiology Conference, studied the relationship between cannabis use and heart disease more broadly.
Researchers looked at data for how regularly people used the drug and their rates of coronary artery disease.
They found daily cannabis users were 34 per cent more likely to have CAD than those who have never used marijuana.
What are the symptoms of coronary heart disease?
The main symptoms of coronary heart disease are:
- chest pain (angina)
- shortness of breath
- pain throughout the body
- feeling faint
- feeling sick (nausea)
But not everyone has the same symptoms and some people may not have any before coronary heart disease is diagnosed.
Source: The NHS
The team suggested THC — the psychoactive chemical in cannabis — could be behind the increased risk.
Other studies have shown the chemical can cause swelling in the blood vessels, promoting the buildup of plaque.
They said it is unlikely products containing just CBD — the medicinal compound in marijuana, which is legal in the UK — would have the same effect.
Dr Parnjpe said: “These findings are exciting because they suggest there might be new drug targets and mechanisms we can explore to take control of this pathway going forward.”