Cannabis and the heart unchartered territory.
Cannabis is one of the most commonly used illicit drugs. It is a psychoactive drug with tetrahydrocannabinol being the main active ingredient. With increasing decriminalization and legalization of marijuana use in the USA, it is essential to study its long-term effects on cardiovascular diseases, a leading cause of death in the USA. Cannabis can trigger acute myocardial infarction in otherwise healthy young individuals, affect atherogenesis, arrhythmia, develop Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and cannabis arteritis. The only definitive treatment for these pathologies is complete abstinence. In this review we focus on discussing the long-term effects of tetrahydrocannabinol on cardiovascular pathologies, its pathophysiology and a brief discussion on its clinical features and definitive management. Cannabis is one of the most commonly abused drugs. It is a stimulant with tetrahydrocannabinol being the main active ingredient. With increasing decriminalization and legalization of marijuana use in the USA, it is essential to study its long-term effects on heart diseases, a leading cause of death in the USA. Cannabis can trigger heart attacks in otherwise healthy young individuals, affect normal beating of the heart and heart muscle functions and also play a role in narrowing of the blood vessels reducing the blood to distant parts of the body. The only definitive treatment for these marijuana induced heart and blood vessel diseases is completely restricting the use of the drug. In this review, we focus on discussing the long-term effects of tetrahydrocannabinol on development of certain heart and blood vessel diseases and briefly discuss its clinical features and definitive treatment options for complete restrain from marijuana.