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Discussion summary

A 2025 study suggests cannabis use may significantly increase heart attack risk, with THC linked to vascular issues. Discussions include potential mechanisms, historical context, and public perceptions.

What the discussion says

  • Some users warn about the health risks of cannabis, especially THC.
  • Others mention the influence of other substances like cocaine.
  • Critics highlight the need for cautious interpretation of the study.
“THC found in gummies may cause vascular problems.”
— RickJWagner
“Cannabis consumption often involves other illicit drugs.”
— il-b

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  • Hacker News
  • Gave myself temporary afib with pot, wore an Apple Watch for five years to confirm a hard stop resolved the afib (it eventually did after a few months with no changes in dietary/activity and I continued monitoring for five years), sold the Apple Watch. Turns out my adhd’s addiction resistance has the unfortunate downside of being able to OD on pot without noticing it. Glad to see science caught up. No confounding factors like nicotine et al, no recurrence since.
    by altairprime
  • I was under the impression that breathing in burnt particulate of any sort was associated with serious cardiovascular risk? I would think a significant portion of cannabis users ingest smoke very frequently or at least second hand smoke more frequently than people who do not engage at all with a subculture that is largely smoke oriented.
    by yasaheblasa
  • Would be nice to know how much of a role a sedentary lifestyle plays in it or if it puts everyone at risk regardless of other habits. Maybe this just means you need to do cardio several times a week to keep using THC.
    by gchamonlive
  • The study controlled for general health but I would note that the odds-ratio reported for cannabis use (4-6) is not so different from the odds-ratio associated when studying high vs. low income cohorts (3-5). This study is not a random blinded clinical trial it's reporting a trend present in ~5 million electronic health records which I assume record yes/no to patients ever telling a doctor they have used cannabis.

    I would assume that cannabis use correlates with a few other important heart health variables and we would expect the odds ratio to be lower when accounting for those (alcohol doesn't have an OR more than 1.0, tobacco smoking ~1.5)

    I'm sure that cannabis use is bad for cardio health but the reported odds ratio is very high. I personally do not use cannabis.

    by acc_297
  • For me, cannabis causes anxiety, and it’s pretty well established that anybody with anxiety or bipolar or schizophrenia should not be using cannabis because it can make these much worse. I don’t suffer anxiety anymore, but there’s plenty of scientific evidence about the relationship between anxiety and cannabis use.
    by dvduval
  • 6x sounds too clickbaity.

    but sure, still lets make to account by other "legal" substances (alco, tobacco, cocaine, pharmaceutics and other "lifestyle choices" infecting cardiovascular system) and way they are consumed(smoked, ingested, pure or with say tobacco)

    would love see data for a group who consumes cannabis by ingestion and especially not via smoking!

    also- do they differ different thc/cbd grades used (high/low thc, "medical")?

    im regards "research demonstrates something does this.." for many years alcohol was considered "healthier" over non consumption, just becauses non-drinkers were together with those of abstinent ex-alcholics.. thus average score was lower than for those who drunk minimal amounts and were considered "healthier".

    by kovacs_x
  • I wonder about all the confounding effects. In my country (famous for cannabis to be easy to come by (for decades already), and I saw many smoke from age 16 up as I grew up in 90's, 00's). I have always felt that the heavy cannabis smokers had something to compensate; stress, unrest, impending depression, friction with parents. It was never the healthy sporty types with fulfilling relationships, good grades or a nice career that smoke cannabis heavily (like daily). Sure, some of those smoked, but more occasionally.
    by teekert
  • > researchers were unable to account for several potential confounding factors including the duration and amount of cannabis use or the use of tobacco or other drugs.

    Personally I'd wager a bet it's the tobacco and/or smoking that is the harmful part, but it kind of dumbfounds me they failed to account for "details" like "duration and amount of cannabis use", that feels like a very vital thing to control for. Nothing is good for you in too great amounts, even water, so not taking that into account seems to not really give reliable and trustworthy results.

    by embedding-shape

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