The medical use of cannabis to combat chronic pain increases the risk of cardiovascular disorders, according to research led by Dr. Nina Nouhravesh, from Gentofte University Hospital (Denmark).
Responsible for the study, presented at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology, which takes place in Barcelona, he explained that chronic pain is “a growing problem” and that since the year 2000 the number of people over 16 years of age has increased by 10% the illness.
The doctor also recalled that in 2018 the use of medical cannabis was approved in Denmark on an experimental basis.
“This study investigated the cardiovascular side effects of medical cannabis and arrhythmias in particular, as cardiac disorders had previously been found in recreational cannabis users,” Nouhravesh said.
The researchers identified that 4,931 (0.31%) of the 1.6 million patients diagnosed with chronic pain in Denmark between 2018 and 2021 requested at least one cannabis prescription.
The participants, who were followed up for 180 days, were on average 60 years old and 63% were women.
Of those who used medical cannabis, 17.8% had cancer, 17.1% arthritis, 14.9% back pain, 9.8% neurological diseases, 4.4% headaches and 3 % other problems.
The risk of experiencing a new arrhythmia was 0.86% for medical cannabis users and 0.49% for non-users.
“The study showed that medical cannabis users are 74% more likely to experience cardiac disorders compared to non-users,” although the absolute risk difference was modest (1.74 points), he said.
The specialist stressed that it must be taken into account that a percentage of cannabis users took other painkillers, admitting: “We cannot rule out that this may explain the greater probability of arrhythmias.”
Source: Observadora
