While smoking too much marijuana can induce heart problems including tachycardia, a recent study suggests that cannabis consumption actually lowers the risk of a heart attack. The level of protection afforded by cannabis, according to the researchers, is comparable to that of red wine, which is known to be excellent for the heart when eaten in moderation.
The Relationship Between Cannabis And The Risk Of Heart Attack
Despite allegations that marijuana can affect a user’s heart, the National Academy of Sciences recently released a significant report that found no evidence that cannabis usage can cause a heart attack. To put an end to the discussion, the authors of this new study looked at data from hundreds of thousands of people in the United Kingdom to see if there was a link between marijuana use and myocardial infarctions.
Overall, they discovered that persons who use cannabis have a 15% lower risk of heart attack than those who do not. Intriguingly, red wine drinkers were shown to have a lower risk than non-drinkers.
In a study of 157,111 people, higher levels of cannabis use were linked to a lower risk of heart attack. 2,780 of the 3,394 people in this cohort who had had a myocardial infarction had never smoked marijuana before. Another 270 had smoked once or twice, 147 had been stoned three to ten times, 110 had used marijuana 11 to 100 times, and 87 had used marijuana more than 100 times.
A separate group of 10,129 people who had suffered a heart attack was studied. 3,740 people indicated they had never tried red wine. Only 616 cardiac arrests occurred in persons who drank four glasses of wine per week, compared to 144 in those who drank nine glasses per week.
“Marijuana, which has not been proved to have the beneficial physiological benefits of red wine on the heart, does reduce myocardial infarction risk to an amount comparable to red wine,” the study authors conclude. Both may have a beneficial effect on the heart by lowering stress.”
How Can Cannabis Help You Avoid a Heart Attack?
“Cannabinoids are chemical components found in the cannabis plant that are one of a kind. According to the researchers, “one or more of these drugs may be responsible for the reduction in MI risk we describe here.” While additional research is needed to understand which components in cannabis reduce the risk of heart attack, the authors suggest that both smoking marijuana and drinking red wine may protect people by helping them relax.
They claim that lowering “psychological stress, negative emotions, and social contact resistance” can help avoid heart disease. Simultaneously, they recognize that red wine affects the heart through a variety of processes. These include cholesterol management, blood clot prevention, and antioxidant pathway activation, to name a few.
As a result, the researchers suggest that weed’s beneficial effect on the heart may be due to more than just a reduction in stress, while the particular biochemical processes involved are unknown.