Your daily adult tube feed all in one place!
Smoking cannabis TRIPLES the risk of heart attacks and strokes, study of emergency hospital admissions reveals
People who use cannabis and other recreational drugs are up to a third more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke, alarming new research has suggested.
Advocates of the drug often purport that marijuana is safe because it is 'natural'.
But scientists in France, who tracked more than 1,300 patients in intensive care, found people who took cannabis alone had almost twice the risk of suffering a cardiovascular event.
Experts today urged hospitals to screen all emergency room patients for recreational drug use.
Scientists have previously suggested the active ingredient in cannabis, THC, triggers the body's fight-or-flight response, which raises heart rate and blood pressure.
Advocates of the drug often purport that marijuana is safe because it is 'natural'. But scientists in France , who tracked more than 1,300 patients in intensive care, found people who took cannabis alone had almost double the risk of suffering a cardiovascular event
While some warning signs are easy to spot — such as severe chest pain — others are more vague and hard to pinpoint
Over time, this damages the heart and increases the risk of life-threating problems like heart attacks.
In the study, researchers tracked 1,392 patients who were admitted to 39 different intensive care units in France over a two-week period in April 2021.
Among them, 11 per cent (157) tested positive for recreational drug use, including 136 with cannabis.
The other 21 were found to have heroin, cocaine, amphetamines or MDMA in their system.
More than a quarter (28.7 per cent) tested positive for two or more of these drugs.
Over a follow-up of a year, the researchers discovered seven per cent (94) of patients experienced a serious cardiovascular event including death.
Of the 713 patients in total hospitalised for acute coronary syndrome, 96 (14 per cent) had a positive recreational drug test and 50 (7 per cent) experienced serious cardiovascular events.
Computer modelling found recreational drug use was 'associated with a three times higher risk of serious cardiovascular events', the scientists said.
They also found that among recreational drugs tested, MDMA had a cardiovascular event risk of 4.1 times that of not taking any drugs.
Heroin stood at 3.6 times and cannabis 1.8 times.
'Other drug types did not have a statistically significant relationship with serious cardiovascular events,' the researchers added.
Study author and doctor at Hospital Lariboisiere in Paris, Dr Raphael Mirailles said: 'Recreational drug use was associated with a tripling of the risk of a repeat serious cardiovascular event within one-year.'
He added: 'There is an increasing amount of data regarding worst prognosis associated with recreational drug use, not only in cardiac intensive care units but also in conventional intensive care units.
'Despite high rate of underreporting of recreational drug use, systematic screening is not recommended by the current guidelines.
'It might improve risk stratification of patients and personalised care to favour drug withdrawal. Therefore, systemic screening should be considered in intensive care.'
Scientists are still working to unravel exactly why this cardiovascular risk occurs, though it's thought that THC activates the body's fight-or-flight response, which typically occurs during stress or fear.
Stroke symptoms are commonly remembered under this four-letter acronym, FAST. Patients experiencing a stroke can often have their face drop on one side, struggle to lift both arms and have slurred speech, while time is essential, as immediate treatment for a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke can substantially slash the risk of a much deadlier major stroke
Other - just as common - tell-tale signs of a looming stroke, often fall under the radar. These include sudden numbness on one side of the body, sudden vertigo and difficulty swallowing
When fight-or-flight is triggered, it leads to higher heart rate and blood pressure.
Over time, this causes the heart to need to work harder to pump blood to the rest of the body.
This can wear away at the heart and lead to conditions like heart disease and stroke.
The scientists will present their research on August 31 at the 2024 European Society of Cardiology Congress in London.
Latest figures show cannabis remains the most popular drug among 16 to-59-year-olds in England and Wales.
It was highest among 20 to 24-year-olds last year with almost one in six people in this group using it, official figures show.
Last year, 32 deaths in England and Wales and around 300 in the US were attributable to weed.
A 2019 study by researchers at Kings College London also found daily use of high-potency weed can increase the risk of psychosis by five-fold.
It comes as alarming data earlier this year revealed that premature deaths from cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, have hit their highest level in more than a decade.
Cases of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes among the under-75s had tumbled since the 1960s thanks to plummeting smoking rates, advanced surgical techniques and breakthroughs such as stents and statins.
But now, rising obesity rates, and its catalogue of associated health problems like high blood pressure and diabetes, are thought to be one of the major contributing factors.
Slow ambulance response times for category 2 calls in England — which includes suspected heart attacks and strokes — as well as long waits for tests and treatment have also been blamed for the rise, which is also being felt in younger adults.
Despite claims from anti-vaxxers, cardiologists say fears that Covid vaccines might have fuelled an increase in heart problems are way off the mark.