Pubdate: Fri, 25 Apr 2014
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2014 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times
Page: A10

STROKE RISK LINKED TO USE OF POT

Study: Cardiovascular Events in Young Users Up

Over a five-year period, a government-andated tracking system in
France showed that physicians in that country treated 1,979 patients
for serious health problems associated with the use of marijuana, and
nearly 2 percent of those encounters were with patients suffering from
cardiovascular problems, including heart attack, cardiac arrhythmia
and stroke, as well as circulation problems in the arms and legs. In
roughly a quarter of those cases, the study found, the patient died.

In the United States, when young and otherwise healthy patients show
up in emergency departments with symptoms of heart attack, stroke,
cardiomyopathy and cardiac arrhythmia, physicians have frequently
noted in case reports that these unusual patients are regular
marijuana users.

Such reporting is hardly the basis for declaring marijuana use an
outright cause of cardiovascular disease. But on Wednesday,
cardiologists writing in the Journal of the American Heart Association
warned that "clinical evidence ... suggests the potential for serious
cardiovascular risks associated with marijuana use." And with a
growing movement to decriminalize marijuana use, they called for
data-collection efforts capable of detecting and measuring marijuana's
cardiovascular impact among American users of cannibis setiva.

"There is now compelling evidence on the growing risk of
marijuana-associated adverse cardiovascular effects, especially in
young people," said Emilie Jouanjus, lead author of the French study,
which was also published in the Journal of the American Heart
Association. That evidence, Jouanjus added, should prompt
cardiologists to consider marijuana use a potential cause of
cardiovascular disease in patients they see.
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MAP posted-by: Matt