The Impact of Marijuana on the Cardiovascular System: A Review of the Most Common Cardiovascular Events Associated with Marijuana Use.

Zara Latif,Nadish Garg

doi:10.3390/jcm9061925

Abstract

With the expanded legalization of marijuana, its medical and recreational use have sharply increased over the past decade. A wide array of new forms of cannabis is available on the market today, and the potencies are ten times those of forms previously tested, meaning that the true impact of marijuana on the cardiovascular system remains unclear. Cannabis mainly exerts its effects via the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, with different doses affecting different cannabinoids receptors. Studies have shown that marijuana plays a role in thrombosis, inflammation, and atherosclerosis. Case reports have linked marijuana use to myocardial infarction, cardiac arrythmias, cardiomyopathies, stroke, and arteritis. Most patients are young, healthy men with no cardiovascular risk factors; however, the patient population is expected to change to include older individuals in the future. The widespread public perception of safety accompanying marijuana use has contributed to its increased use among the elderly, who are the most at risk population for acute cardiovascular events. In this review, we aim to provide a basic understanding of the physiological effects of marijuana on the cardiovascular system and to review the current literature regarding cardiovascular diseases linked to marijuana use in adults.

Highlights

Over the last ten years, there has been a dramatic increase in medical and recreational marijuana use
In a study that investigated the long-term outcomes of marijuana use in adults with their first myocardial infarction (MI) at
The results showed no evidence to suggest that cumulative lifetime or recent marijuana use changes the risk of future cardiovascular events in middle age

Summary

Introduction

Over the last ten years, there has been a dramatic increase in medical and recreational marijuana use. As of 2020, 33 states plus the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana in the United States, with the number of states doing so expected to increase later in the year. There were an estimated 188 million marijuana users in 2017, which is approximately 3.8% of the global population aged 15–64 years old [1]. In 2018, 11.8 million young adults in the United States reported marijuana use [2]. According to a study done by Azofeifa between 2002 and 2014, there was a 455% increase in marijuana consumption among U.S adults aged 55–64 and a 333% increase in those older than 64 years, the most at risk population for cardiovascular events [4]

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