Marijuana use triples risk of death from hypertension

[Nelson Vergel]

My blood pressure goes up with edibles or Marinol for sure (I don't smoke)


"Overall, marijuana users had a 3.42 times greater risk of death from hypertension than did nonusers (95% confidence interval, 1.20-9.79), and the risk increased by 1.04 for each year of use (95% CI, 1.00-1.07). The average duration of marijuana use was 11.5 years. At the time of study entry, the average age of the participants was 38 years, and the average body mass index was 29 kg/m2; 23% of marijuana users and 21% of nonusers had a prior diagnosis of hypertension."


Marijuana use triples risk of death from hypertension

 

[Re-Ride]

The study only reports an association. Those in the study who simply acknowledged ever having used cannabis were labeled "users". There is no proof here that cannabis causes hypertension or makes it worse.

 

[user_joe]

It can spike your pulse right after smoking it temporarily. Anything that does could trigger something pre-existing

 

[Saul]

So people use cannabis and then keel over dead? Is it a heart attack or they blow out a vessel? This is hard for me to understand.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Background :

Acute cannabis administration has been shown to increase resting heart rate and blood pressure, and induce orthostatic hypotension (Jones, 2002). Increased heart rate following acute cannabis exposure has been shown to be dose-related (Heishman et al., 1989). Peak effects on heart rate appear to occur 10 to 15 minutes after smoking and result in an increase of 20 to 30 beats per minute, but mean increases as high as 43.5 beats per minute have been reported (Chait and Zacny, 1992; Galanter et al., 1972; Heishman et al., 1989; Ilan et al., 2005).

There are few studies in which the effects of smoked cannabis administration on blood pressure are reported. Supine blood pressure has been shown to increase following cannabis exposure (Mathew et al., 1993), but blood pressure has also been shown to drop when participants move from a supine to standing position (Renault et al., 1974). Insufficient published data are available to confidently report on the time course or typical magnitude of these effects, and it appears that orthostatic hypotension is reliably observed whereas an increase in supine blood pressure is not. Epidemiological studies and case reports have linked acute cannabis intoxication to myocardial infarction, angina, arrhythmias, transient ischemic attacks, and stroke (Karch, 2006). However, associations between cannabis use and these cardiovascular events are not always consistent, case reports of these types of occurrences are rare, and controlled studies are generally lacking.

Tolerance to the acute cardiovascular effects of cannabis develops rapidly with repeated exposure. In laboratory studies, the acute cardiovascular effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; the primary psychoactive component of cannabis) are attenuated with repeated administration, and have even been shown to result in a reduction of heart rate and blood pressure relative to baseline levels (Benowitz and Jones, 1975; Benowitz and Jones, 1981). However, Jones (Jones, 2002) recently pointed out that understanding of the cardiovascular effects of chronic cannabis use is limited by the fact that most human research has been of short duration, used relatively low doses of smoked cannabis or oral THC, and has largely excluded participants who are female, older, or exhibit symptoms of cardiovascular disease.

Source

 

[Saul]

This is one of those headlines that are all too common that make it hard for readers to know the truth and what is really occuring. I will go so far as to say it is misleading.
For this study that I read (the source):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3045206/

The facts are interesting. Please correct me if I am wrong, but first and foremost, cannabis lowered blood pressure, but BP went back up during abstinence.

" Systolic blood pressure increased from a mean (SEM) of 129.6 (0.9) mmHg during cannabis use to a mean of 139.8 (0.8) mmHg during abstinence. Diastolic blood pressure increased from a mean of 74.8 (0.7) mmHg during cannabis use to a mean of 81.8 (0.6) mmHg during abstinence." The warning is to not stop abruptly and that is when the risk can occur. " In both cases, BP is higher during abstinence !

Further, the study participants were heavy users. In terms of alcohol, they would be considered alcoholics - maybe the headline could be "Drug Abuse Causes Health Risks"

"Daily cannabis users . . . . used cannabis at least 25 days per month for at least 1 year with no indication that they were seeking treatment . . . Fourteen participants were enrolled and 13 completed the study (11 male, 2 female). Those who completed the study . . . used cannabis an average of 5 (3) times per day during the 3 months prior to admission in the study. . . . . all smoked tobacco cigarettes (6 (5) cigarettes/day) daily. One male African American participant (017) was taking lisinopril (20mg/day) and hydrochlorothiazide (12.5mg/day) for hypertension on admission to the study. "

So the participants also smoked cigs and used alot of cannabis, - an amount that would be abuse levels - average of 5 time per day (some more in addition to cigs) if in alcohol or any other drug were in questions.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

The Effect of Marijuana on the Incidence and Evolution of Male Infertility: A Systematic Review

Over the past decade, the consumption of marijuana or any other form of cannabis, whether medically, recreationally, or illegally, has been escalating worldwide. The additive effect of marijuana and the easy availability could make this increasing trend ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Smokin Joe]

This ain't the same weed that was cultivated in the 6os and 70s. THC content now up to 25% versus about 5%.
No wonder!
How high does one need to get?
My fear is for the younger adults and kids now a days who are used to smoking high content weed.
The future cannot be good for them I think.