Washington: Marijuana use may result in cardiovascular-related complications - even death - among young and middle-aged adults, a new study has warned.
"In prior research, we identified several remarkable cases of cardiovascular complications as the reasons for hospital admission of young marijuana users," said Emilie Jouanjus, lead author of the study and a medical faculty member at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse in Toulouse, France.
"This unexpected finding deserved to be further analysed, especially given that the medicinal use of marijuana has become more prevalent and some governments are legalising its use," Jouanjus said.
Researchers analysed serious cardiovascular-related complications following marijuana use that was reported to the French Addictovigilance Network in 2006-10.
They identified 35 cases of cardiovascular and vascular conditions related to the heart, brain and limbs. Most of the patients were male, average age 34.3 years.
Nearly 2 per cent (35 of the 1,979) marijuana-related complications were cardiovascular complications.
Of the 35 cases, 22 were heart-related, including 20 heart attacks; 10 were peripheral with diseases related to arteries in the limbs; and three were related to the brain's arteries.
The percentage of reported cardiovascular complications more than tripled from 2006 to 2010, researchers said, adding that nine patients, or 25.6 per cent, died.
"The general public thinks marijuana is harmless, but information revealing the potential health dangers of marijuana use needs to be disseminated to the public, policymakers and healthcare providers," Jouanjus said.
People with pre-existing cardiovascular weaknesses appear to be more prone to the harmful effects of marijuana, researchers said.
"There is now compelling evidence on the growing risk of marijuana-associated adverse cardiovascular effects, especially in young people," Jouanjus said.
"It is therefore important that doctors, including cardiologists, be aware of this, and consider marijuana use as one of the potential causes in patients with cardiovascular disorders," Jouanjus said.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
