Cannabis use endangers heart health for certain group

While marijuana has been legalized in many states, research has shown that it could have detrimental health impacts for some - including a higher risk of heart attacks.

One study included more than 4.6 million people. The other was a large review that looked at 12 previous studies including more than 75 million people, which is said to be the largest combined study examining the relationship between cannabis and heart attacks.

The findings will be presented at the ACC's Annual Scientific Session March 29-31 in Chicago and will also be published in the journal JACC Advances.

They were also four times as likely to have a stroke, twice as likely to experience heart failure and three times as likely to die from a cardiac event.

This risk was shown to peak as soon as one hour after cannabis use in one of the studies.

Those included that it could "affect heart rhythm regulation, heighten oxygen demand in the heart muscle, and contribute to endothelial dysfunction, which makes it harder for the blood vessels to relax and expand, and can interrupt blood flow," the release stated.

"At a policy level, a fair warning should be made so that the people who are consuming cannabis know that there are risks."

The study did have some limitations, the researchers noted.

There were some inconsistencies in the data regarding the duration and amount of cannabis use or the use of tobacco or other drugs, the release stated.

"We should have some caution in interpreting the findings in that cannabis consumption is usually associated with other substances, such as cocaine or other illicit drugs, that are not accounted for," Kamel said. 

The researchers called for additional studies to confirm the findings and identify the highest-risk groups.

Dr. Jasdeep Dalawari, an Illinois-based interventional cardiologist and regional chief medical officer at VitalSolution, an Ingenovis Health company, was not involved in the study but reiterated its limitations as a retrospective study.

"A randomized control trial is ideal, but difficult with this topic," he told Fox News Digital. "It raises questions as to the safety of marijuana as it becomes more ubiquitous."

While Dalawari said this study is "interesting and concerning," he also called for more data on the topic. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.