Study tells us that smoking weed regularly doubles the risk of stroke in young people. If the drug is consumed with tobacco, the risks are even worse.
We know that marijuana use has effects on the brain, but a growing body of research also points to increased risks of cardiovascular problems . We know, for example, that smoking cannabis increases heart rate and blood pressure. At the same time, the blood finds it increasingly difficult to distribute oxygen in our body.
A recent study has been added to the list. For this work, researchers from the University of Virginia focused specifically on the risks of stroke (stroke) in people aged 18 to 44 years. The records of 43,860 participants were reviewed in the United States. Of this sample, 13.6% had used marijuana in the past 30 days.
After analyzing all the data, the researchers then found that regular users of marijuana (more than 10 joints per month) were close to 2.5 times more likely to have a stroke than those who did not use it. And we're only talking here about people who smoke "pure joints" - in other words, without tobacco.
For those who mixed herbs and tobacco, the situation was worse. These people were almost three times more likely to have a stroke.
"Although cannabis is not [as] harmful and addictive as other substances, we cannot ignore its potential health risks" , said Tarang Parekh, lead author of the study. Details of these new findings will be presented in a few days at the American Heart Association (AHA) annual meeting in Philadelphia.
Note that this study only makes an association here. It therefore does not prove that it is exclusively the drug that influenced the risk of stroke. Excessive alcohol consumption, for example, can also play a role.
Stroke risk mechanisms are also not yet well understood. But according to some researchers, marijuana use is linked to an increase in the number of clots in the blood vessels, or to a narrowing of the latter. Both of these explanations are compelling, but further study will be needed to better understand them.
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