According to a study published in the Archives of Medical Sciences: Atherosclerotic Disease, heart attack patients with a history of marijuana use have a lower in-hospital mortality rate compared to those without a history of use.
For the study, researchers from various institutions, including the Detroit Medical Center-Wayne State University and the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, conducted a comprehensive analysis of 20 years of hospital data, including data from 9,930,007 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients recorded in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2001 to 2020. Of these, 117,641 patients (1.2%) reported using cannabis. The researchers applied a series of statistical tests and multivariate regression models to compare the outcomes of cannabis users with those who did not use the substance.
“Cannabis users had lower odds of atrial fibrillation, ventricular fibrillation, cardiogenic shock, acute ischaemic stroke, cardiac arrest” and they had a 36% lower risk of all-cause mortality during their hospital stay, state the study’s researchers.
The study did find that cannabis users were more likely to experience supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, and acute kidney injury.
The study concludes:
Among patients aged 18-80 years admitted to hospital with AMI between 2001 and 2020 in the United States, cannabis use was associated with lower risks of cardiogenic shock, acute ischaemic stroke, cardiac arrest, PCI use, and in-hospital mortality.
You can find the full study by clicking here.
