Pubdate: Sun, 27 Apr 2014
Source: Business Standard (India)
Contact:  2014, Business Standard Ltd.
Website: http://www.business-standard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3082

POT SMOKING MAY POSE DANGER TO HEART

Washington - Marijuana use may result in cardiovascular-related 
complications - even death - among young and middle-aged adults, a 
new study has warned.

"In prior research, we identified several remarkable cases of 
cardiovascular complications as the reasons for hospital admission of 
young marijuana users," said Emilie Jouanjus, lead author of the 
study and a medical faculty member at the Centre Hospitalier 
Universitaire de Toulouse in Toulouse, France.

"This unexpected finding deserved to be further analysed, especially 
given that the medicinal use of marijuana has become more prevalent 
and some governments are legalising its use," Jouanjus said.

Researchers analysed serious cardiovascular-related complications 
following marijuana use that was reported to the French 
Addictovigilance Network in 2006-10.

They identified 35 cases of cardiovascular and vascular conditions 
related to the heart, brain and limbs. Most of the patients were 
male, average age 34.3 years.

Nearly 2 per cent (35 of the 1,979) marijuana-related complications 
were cardiovascular complications.

Of the 35 cases, 22 were heart-related, including 20 heart attacks; 
10 were peripheral with diseases related to arteries in the limbs; 
and three were related to the brain's arteries.

The percentage of reported cardiovascular complications more than 
tripled from 2006 to 2010, researchers said, adding that nine 
patients, or 25.6 per cent, died.

"The general public thinks marijuana is harmless, but information 
revealing the potential health dangers of marijuana use needs to be 
disseminated to the public, policymakers and healthcare providers," 
Jouanjus said.

People with pre-existing cardiovascular weaknesses appear to be more 
prone to the harmful effects of marijuana, researchers said.

"There is now compelling evidence on the growing risk of 
marijuana-associated adverse cardiovascular effects, especially in 
young people," Jouanjus said.

"It is therefore important that doctors, including cardiologists, be 
aware of this, and consider marijuana use as one of the potential 
causes in patients with cardiovascular disorders," Jouanjus said.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Press Trust of India 
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom