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Heart health and marijuana use: Negative impact on heart medications - week.com

While medical marijuana is touted as helping with a variety of ailments, if you have heart problems, doctors say beware.

Cardiovascular specialists are finding there are some health risks when pot is consumed by those with heart conditions.

A recent study highlighted in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology said that two million Americans with heart conditions report using marijuana.

Recreational marijuana has become a multi-million dollar industry in Illinois in just the first month of legalization. This is a major concern for doctors who say using pot may increase your risk of heart attack and counteract your medication.

Dr. Darrel Gumm said marijuana raises your resting heart rate, makes the heart contract with more vigor, and dilates blood vessels. A major concern for those with irregular heart beat.

"Palpitations, it's a sense that the heart is beating faster than it should be. It may even come out of rhythm, that's called atrial fibrillation where the heart beats in an irregular and fast pattern and so they should watch for that. If that's happening they really need to avoid the use of marijuana and they may even need to come in and seek help for that episode." said Dr. Darrel Gumm, the VP, Medical Director of Cardiovascular Service at OSF

Studies also how THC may cause platelets in the blood to clump.

"Platelets are the building block of a clot, very early building blocks of a clot. It may make them stickier so there's actually some evidence that shows the likelihood of having a heart attack an hour after using marijuana is greater then if you had not smoked marijuana." said Dr. Gumm

Dr. Gumm said two major heart medications, blood thinners and statins might not mix well with marijuana.

"The medications are in the system, now marijuana is in the system and they're all trying to get out the same door. Marijuana says I got priority, so get out of my way, I'm taking up the space. So that allows the medications to build up in the system." said Dr. Gumm

He said when this happens with blood thinners like warfarin, a person becomes at risk for excessive bleeding and may need to have their dosage reduced by as much as 30%.

When it comes to hour you ingest the pot, smoking versus edibles, Dr. Gumm said there are dangers to both. Any foreign substance in the lungs is always a health risk, but with edibles you may not always know the exact dosage. Both a big risk for heart patients.

The most important thing you can do, he said, is be honest with your doctor.

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Heart health and marijuana use: Negative impact on heart medications - week.com
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