Daily Cannabis Smoking Linked to 25% Greater Heart Attack Risk

On Wednesday, February 28, 2024, the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) published a study linking cannabis use to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, including heart attack and stroke. This NIH-funded study used observational data from over 400,000 Americans to suggest that cannabis consumption, predominantly through smoking, can compromise cardiovascular health.

With funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a subset of the NIH, the investigators looked at data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, which included 27 states and 2 United States territories. The survey provided information on cannabis use and self-reported cardiovascular outcomes, including coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, and a composite measure of those factors.

Researchers found that 4% of the 434,104 respondents used cannabis daily, while an additional 7.1% reported non-daily use.

Among individuals who reported daily use, the risk of myocardial infarction, otherwise known as a heart attack, was 25% greater than in non-users. Heart disease risk was also elevated by 16%. Most alarmingly, the risk of stroke among participants who used cannabis daily was 42% greater than in nonusers.

While the impacts were less drastic in weekly users, cannabis use still correlated with worsened cardiovascular health. For example, weekly users were only 3% more likely to have a heart attack and 5% more likely to have a stroke.

Investigators hypothesized that the cardiovascular risks associated with cannabis use may be linked to the method of consumption.

“We know that toxins are released when cannabis is burned, similar to those found in tobacco smoke,” said corresponding author Abra Jeffers, PhD, a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, in the NIH press release. “We've known for a long time that smoking tobacco is linked to heart disease, and this study is evidence that smoking cannabis appears to also be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States. Cannabis use could be an important, underappreciated source of heart disease.”

According to the NIH release, 75% of respondents who reported using cannabis use noted that they predominantly smoked the substance, while 25% chose other consumption methods. While the study could not define a causational relationship between the method of cannabis consumption and heart disease risk, further research may help guide recommendations about cannabis use.