Scientists from the University of Auckland within New Zealand discovered a higher risk of heart attack amongst those smoking marijuana as compared with those who did not. Whereas studies published within the American Heart Journal claimed cannabis users who suffered heart attacks were no more likely to suffer fatalities than individuals who had not smoked marijuana.
The study, which integrated preliminary information, includes the initial trial of its type to study a potential link between marijuana use and heart attacks. It involved 160 participants aged 18 – 55 who’d experienced a heart attack linked with a blood clot inside the brain, and who gave permission to have their urine assessed for cannabis within 3 days of the heart attack. The results were compared to the ones from 160 controls who hadn’t experience a heart attack, yet went to the hospital for other reasons. These participants were matched on ethnic background, gender, and age, all of which also may affect the risk for this kind of heart attack. Around 16 percent of the heart attack patients exhibited traces of cannabis inside their urine, as compared with 8 percent of the ones within the control group, which suggested a doubling of heart attack risk.
