Regular use of cannabis raises the risk of hypertension, researchers have reported.
Researchers from Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA, examined the possible link using figures on 1,213 adults from a long-term study called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Participants were asked about their cannabis use in 2005/6, and those who had used it even once were considered cannabis users. This was the case for 21% of the participants. That was combined with mortality figures in 2011 from the National Centre for Health Statistics.
The researchers, led by Dr Barbara Yankey, looked at deaths from hypertension, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Once cigarette smoking, sex, age, and ethnicity were taken into account, cannabis use was significantly linked to death from hypertension.
In the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, the authors report that cannabis users had a 3.42-times higher risk of death from hypertension than non-users. This equates to a 1.04 greater risk for each year of use. No links were seen between cannabis use and death from heart disease or cerebrovascular disease.
Dr Yankey said: "Steps are being taken towards legalisation and decriminalisation of marijuana in the United States, and rates of recreational marijuana use may increase substantially as a result. However, there is little research on the impact of marijuana use on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality."
She added: "Our results suggest a possible risk of hypertension mortality from marijuana use. This is not surprising since marijuana is known to have a number of effects on the cardiovascular system.
"Marijuana stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, leading to increases in heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen demand. Emergency rooms have reported cases of angina and heart attacks after marijuana use."
Yankey, B. A. et al. Effect of marijuana use on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality: A study using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey linked mortality file. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 9 August 2017; doi: 10.1177/2047487317723212
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