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New research published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine has warned smoking cannabis can have a devastating effect on the heart, increasing a person’s risk by almost 5 times in the first hour after smoking.

The doctors in the UK cited the case of a 21-year-old regular marijuana and cigarette smoker who had a heart attack after smoking cannabis and they believe the drug was to blame.  At a hospital in Wales he had come in complaining of sharp chest pains in his left side after playing soccer. Tests showed his triglyceride and cholesterol levels – fats in the blood - were much higher than normal. The young man had no other risk factors for cardiovascular problems.

He was rushed to the nearest cardiology center, where an X-ray of his coronary arteries revealed a blood clot blocking the heart’s blood supply, which resulted in a heart attack. 

Doctors said cannabis use was the most significant cause of the ‘acute coronary syndrome’ a medical term for the symptoms which occur when the coronary artery is blocked. They also added at this time it is not known how smoking marijuana can cause a heart attack, but that it is known to affect blood flow, increase heart rate, cause high blood pressure when sitting down and low pressure when standing up.

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