Does Marijuana use linked to stroke?

Recent studies link the use of Marijuana/Weed to an increased risk of Stroke. The analysis is based on the fact that frequent use of Marijuana creates blood clots that may result in a stroke. Despite the increasing consumption of Marijuana as a party drug and also the fact that it is not very addictive, we cannot ignore the potential health risks it may pose for the abusers.

According to lead author Dr. Tarang Parekh, a health policy researcher at George Mason University in Virginia, Cannabis might also trigger “reversible cerebral vasoconstriction,” or a temporary narrowing of the blood vessels in the brain that has been linked with stroke.

Marijuana use doubles the stroke risk in young people

Frequent Marijuana use has been proved to be responsible for doubling the chance of stroke in young people aged between 18 and 44 years old. There is also an observation that states that Marijuana uses tended to report heavy drinking and using tobacco cigarettes. The incidence of strokes among them could be the result of combination of Marijuana to heavy drinking. According to a statement, A study found that marijuana users, or people who abused marijuana for more than 10 days a month, but who did not use tobacco products were nearly 2.5 times more likely to have a stroke than people who did not use marijuana at all.

Marijuana and smoking

Among people who used Marijuana frequently and also smoked tobacco cigarettes or e-cigarettes, the risk was even higher. Marijuana abusers were nearly three times more likely to have a stroke as compared to those who didn’t use either marijuana or cigarettes. Marijuana smoke is said to contain many of the same toxins, irritants, and carcinogens found in tobacco cigarette smoke, a known contributor to heart disease as well as cancer.

Emerging evidence indicates an increased risk for heart disease and stroke from the effects of frequent smoking cannabis on blood pressure, inflammation of the blood vessels and cardiac arrhythmias. While vaping cannabis is somewhere in the middle in terms of level of harm, smoking Marijuana is said to have an effect as intense and instant as an intravenous shot.

Pot and the effect

Marijuana has been lately made legal in many places and also used as a therapeutic drug that alleviates pain, nausea and irritation caused by treatments such as chemotherapy and other cases of chronic pain. This is because Cannabinoid compounds interact with receptors in nerve cells to slow down pain impulses and ease discomfort. This may however prove counterproductive in people with excess weight and exacerbate the already existing conditions such as diabetes and hypertension in them. In some cases, a stroke could result in people who are obese and use marijuana frequently for various reasons.

Marijuana and people with existing cardiovascular disease

Scientists have established that people with existing heart conditions and frequent use of Marijuana are at the highest risk of developing chest pain under stress. Cannabinoids, which have a complex effect of the cardio vascular system of the abuser being the cause. The reasons include raising resting heart rate, dilating blood vessels, and making the heart pump harder. Research suggests that the risk of heart attack is several times higher in the hour after smoking marijuana than it would be normally. Although the evidence is weaker, marijuana abuse among cardiovascular patients is linked to a higher risk of atrial fibrillation or ischemic stroke immediately following marijuana use, Also, studies conducted by Dr. Mukamal and colleagues suggest that marijuana smoking may increase the long-term death rate among heart attack survivors.

Among the effects of illegal drugs on the health and risks of the abusers, Marijuana use has been independently associated with a 26 percent increase in the risk of stroke and a 10 percent increase in the risk of developing heart failure.