Marijuana and Heart Attacks?

[unusuallyconfused]

Monday June 11 5:38 PM ET
Marijuana May Trigger Heart Attack in Older Users
By Suzanne Rostler

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Smoking marijuana can boost the immediate risk of heart attack nearly five times in some middle-aged users, study findings suggest.

Researchers report that the risk of heart attack was 4.8 times higher in the first hour after smoking marijuana among a group of adults compared with periods of non-use. The heart attack risk was 1.7 times higher two hours after smoking compared with times of non-use

Previous studies have shown that like tobacco, marijuana raises blood pressure, speeds heart rate and boosts the heart's need for oxygen while it inhibits oxygen flow.

While marijuana now appears to play a very small role in the total number of heart attacks, this could change if more people use the drug in prime heart attack years, according to Dr. Murray A. Mittleman, director of cardiovascular epidemiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, and the study's lead author.

``In our study, marijuana was a rare trigger of heart attacks. Whether the magnitude of the problem will increase depends upon the changing demographics of marijuana users,'' he told Reuters Health.

Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the US, the authors note in the June 19th issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association (news - web sites). While use among middle-aged and older adults has traditionally been low, it is increasing as the generation of Americans who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s ages.

``As this population enters the age range where coronary disease is common, we may see marijuana-related heart attacks much more frequently,'' Mittleman said.

The findings may also be relevant to the debate over the medical uses of marijuana as they highlight the importance of considering the risks and benefits of taking any substance for medical use, Mittleman noted.

The study of nearly 4,000 patients aged 20 to 92 found that 3.2% (124) reported smoking marijuana in the year before their heart attack. The rate of smoking was higher--12.5%--among patients younger than 50 years of age.

Among 37 adults who reported smoking marijuana within 24 hours of their heart attacks, 76% said they smoked at least every week. Among nine patients who said they smoked within one hour of their heart attack, 78% said they smoked weekly.

Overall, about 68% of marijuana smokers said they smoked at least monthly and 41% said they smoked at least weekly. Of the marijuana smokers, 94% were male, 43% were obese and 68% were cigarette smokers, the report indicates. Nearly one in four--23%--had a history of heart attack.

For those of you who do, FYI (me on marijuana, even worse than normal, (as I chuckle and reach for a brownie!)

 

[Purple Haze]

Monday June 11 5:38 PM ET
Television May Trigger Heart Attack in Older Users
By Suzanne Rostler

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Watching television can boost the immediate risk of heart attack nearly five times in some middle-aged users, study findings suggest.

Researchers report that the risk of heart attack was 4.8 times higher in the first hour after watching television among a group of adults compared with periods of non-use. The heart attack risk was 1.7 times higher two hours after watching compared with times of non-use

Previous studies have shown that like tobacco, television raises blood pressure, speeds heart rate and boosts the heart's need for oxygen while it inhibits oxygen flow.

While television watching now appears to play a very small role in the total number of heart attacks, this could change if more people use the drug in prime heart attack years, according to Dr. Murray A. Mittleman, director of cardiovascular epidemiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, and the study's lead author.

``In our study, television was a rare trigger of heart attacks. Whether the magnitude of the problem will increase depends upon the changing demographics of television watchers,'' he told Reuters Health.

Television is the most frequently used illegal drug in the US, the authors note in the June 19th issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association (news - web sites). While use among middle-aged and older adults has traditionally been low, it is increasing as the generation of Americans who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s ages.

``As this population enters the age range where coronary disease is common, we may see television-related heart attacks much more frequently,'' Mittleman said.

The findings may also be relevant to the debate over the medical uses of television as they highlight the importance of considering the risks and benefits of watching any television for medical use, Mittleman noted.

The study of nearly 4,000 patients aged 20 to 92 found that 3.2% (124) reported watching television in the year before their heart attack. The rate of watching was higher--12.5%--among patients younger than 50 years of age.

Among 37 adults who reported watching television within 24 hours of their heart attacks, 76% said they watched at least every week. Among nine patients who said they watched within one hour of their heart attack, 78% said they watched weekly.

Overall, about 68% of television viewers said they watched at least monthly and 41% said they watched at least weekly. Of the television viewers, 94% were male, 43% were obese and 68% were cigarette smokers, the report indicates. Nearly one in four--23%--had a history of heart attack.