Heart rhythm disorder is the improper beating of the heart, whether irregular, too fast or too slow. A cardiac arrhythmia occurs when electrical impulses in the heart don’t work properly.
In a study from UC San Francisco, scientists found that some commonly used and abused drugs pose previously unidentified risks for the development of atrial fibrillation (AF), a potentially deadly heart-rhythm disorder.
AF is an abnormally disordered pumping rhythm arising from electrical disturbances in the heart’s upper chambers, the atria.
In severe cases of faulty atrial pumping, clots may form in the atria, and then break off into the bloodstream and cause deadly strokes. AF-related strokes cause more than 150,000 US deaths each year.
In the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 23 million people, identifying nearly one million people who had no pre-existing AF, but who later developed AF during 2005-2015.
Among patients in the databases examined, 132,834 used cannabis, 98,271 used methamphetamine, 48,700 used cocaine, and 10,032 used opiates.
The scientists found that marijuana users had a 35% increased likelihood of later developing AF.
They found despite exhibiting a weaker association with incident AF than the other substances, cannabis use still showed an association of similar or greater magnitude to risk factors like dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease.
Furthermore, those with cannabis use exhibited a similar relative risk of incident AF as those with traditional tobacco use.
Unlike cocaine or methamphetamine use, both stimulants were previously known to sometimes lead to sudden cardiac death due to profound disruptions in the orderly electrical signaling and pumping within the heart’s other chambers—the ventricles—there is no demonstrated mechanism whereby marijuana use causes heart arrhythmias.
The study was not designed to probe specific marijuana constituents that might be responsible for elevated AF risk, but inhaled particulates are a likely factor.
There is some evidence from previous studies that particulate matter—as from the known risk factor tobacco smoke—can increase the likelihood of an AF episode among those already diagnosed with the disorder.
Particulate matter inhalation increases inflammation, and inflammation is a known trigger for AF.
The team hopes to conduct controlled studies in humans to more directly study the effects of marijuana on heart rhythm and to further investigate possible mechanisms through which use of the other drugs may lead to increased AF risk.
If you care about Marijuana, please read studies that marijuana users need up to 220% higher dosage for sedation in surgeries, and Marijuana may strongly increase death risk in high blood pressure.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies that artificial sweeteners in food linked to higher risk of heart disease, and results showing calcium supplements may harm your heart health.
The study was published in European Heart Journal.
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