On March 18, a report on a research study linking marijuana use to strokes and heart failure will be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington, D.C. According to outcomes presented in the data, cannabis users have a slightly higher risk for heart problems — and the research shows that there are even cannabis receptors in heart cells.
Using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), a database of information from more than 1,000 hospitals around the country, researchers compiled records from patients 18 to 55 years of age who were discharged in 2009 and 2010. Hospitals in forty-four states and Washington, D.C., contributed data to the NIS database, according to lead researcher Dr. Aditi Kalla.