CANNABIS HEART ATTACK RISK

SMOKING cannabis can increase the risk of having a heart attack nearly
five-fold within an hour of taking the drug, researchers said today.

The discovery was made by American scientists who obtained information on
cannabis use from 3,882 middle-aged and elderly patients who had suffered
heart attacks.

A total of 124 patients were identified as current users, including 37 who
reported smoking the drug up to 24 hours before their attack, and nine who
had used it within an hour of experiencing symptoms.

The researchers, from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston,
Massachusetts, found that in the first hour after taking cannabis, the
heart attack risk was 4.8 times higher than during periods of non-use.

In the second hour, the risk dropped to 1.7 times higher.

Dr Murray Mittleman, director of cardiovascular epidemiology at the medical
centre, said: "To my knowledge, this is the first study to document that
smoking marijuana can trigger a heart attack.

"It increases the heart rate by about 40 beats per minute. It also causes
the blood pressure to increase when the person is lying down, and then
abruptly fall when the person stands up, often causing dizziness.

"These effects may pose significant risk, especially in people with
unrecognised coronary disease."The findings were to be presented today at
the American Heart Association's 40th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular
Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in San Diego, California.