A new study suggests that people who use marijuana are at a three-fold higher risk of death from high blood pressure than non-users of the drug.
A group of researchers found that marijuana use could be a stronger risk factor for deteriorated heart health than cigarette smoking.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when the pressure exerted by blood against the vessel walls becomes too high. This can increase the probability of having heart disease and stroke, and lead to early death.
The researchers gathered data from 1,213 adults (aged 20 or above) who had participated in the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Information on cigarette and marijuana use was collected. The average duration of marijuana use was 11.5 years.
Using 2011 data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the effects of marijuana use on the risk of death from high blood pressure, and heart and brain diseases were studied.
The results demonstrated that marijuana users were at 3.42 times greater risk of death due to high blood pressure than non-users of the drug. For each year of marijuana use, this risk increased by 1.04 times. However, a link between marijuana use and the risk of death from heart or brain disease was missing.
The researchers suggested that marijuana use may have more detrimental effects on the heart compared to cigarette smoking. They added that the number of smokers in this study was small and a larger sample size would be required to verify these results.
Source: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology Journal