Application of medical cannabis in unstable angina and coronary artery disease

First discovered in 1990, the endocannabinoid system (ECS) was initially shown to have an intimate relationship with central areas of the nervous system associated with pain, reward, and motivation. Recently, however, the ECS has been extensively implicated in the cardiovascular system with contractility, heart rate, blood pressure, and vasodilation. Emerging data demonstrate modulation of the ECS plays an essential role in cardio metabolic risk, atherosclerosis, and can even limit damage to cardiomyocytes during ischemic events.

Therapeutic Applications of Cannabinoids in Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure

Authors: J. A. Garza-Cervantes, M. Ramos-González ,O. Lozano, C. Jerjes-Sánchez , and G. García-Rivas Published in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity October 2020 Abstract A large number of cannabinoids have…

Cannabis use predicts risks of heart failure and cerebrovascular accidents: results from the National Inpatient Sample.

Authors: Aditi Kalla, Parasuram Krishnamoorthy, Akshaya Gopalakrishnan, Vincent Figueredo
Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine, September 2018

BACKGROUND: Cannabis for medicinal and/or recreational purposes has been decriminalized in 28 states as of the 2016 election. In the remaining states, cannabis remains the most commonly used illicit drug. Cardiovascular effects of cannabis use are not well established due to a…

Cannabinoids, the Heart of the Matter.

Authors: Naghum Alfulaij, Franziska Meiners, Justin Michalek, Andrea L. Small‐Howard, et al
Journal of the American Heart Association, 13 July 2018

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a global epidemic representing the leading cause of death in some Western countries. According to the American Heart Association, a total of 92.1 million US citizens currently have ≥1 forms of CVD, with numbers expected to grow reaching up to 4…

Marijuana use and short-term outcomes in patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction.

Authors: Cecelia P. Johnson-Sasso, Christine Tompkins, David P. Kao, Lori A. Walker
PLoS One, 11 July 2018

Marijuana use is increasing worldwide, and it is ever more likely that patients presenting with acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) will be marijuana users. However, little is known about the impact of marijuana use on short-term outcomes following AMI. Accordingly, we compared…

Cannabis and Heart Disease: Forward Into the Great Unknown?

Authors: Joshua D. Lee, Daniel Schatz, Judith Hochman
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 5 June 2018

The paper by DeFilippis et al. (1) in this issue of the Journal is a timely reminder of how little we know about cannabis consumption, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cannabis’ health effects in general. It is also a firm confirmation of the negative effects of any cocaine u…

Cocaine and Marijuana Use Among Young Adults With Myocardial Infarction.

Authors: Ersilia M. DeFilippis, Avinainder Singh, Sanjay Divakaran, Ankur Gupta, Bradley L. Collins, et al
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 5 June 2018

BACKGROUND: Substance abuse is increasingly prevalent among young adults, but data on cardiovascular outcomes remain limited. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of cocaine and marijuana use in adults with their first myocardial infarction (M…

Associations Between Marijuana Use and Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

Authors: Divya Ravi, Mehrnaz Ghasemiesfe, Deborah Korenstein, Thomas Cascino, Salomeh Keyhani
Annals of Internal Medicine, 6 February 2018

BACKGROUND: Marijuana use is increasing in the United States, and its effect on cardiovascular health is unknown. PURPOSE: To review harms and benefits of marijuana use in relation to cardiovascular risk factors and clinical outcomes. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Psy…

Synthetic and natural cannabinoids: the cardiovascular risk.

Authors: Ethan B. Russo
The British Journal of Cardiology, March 2015

Cannabis has been employed medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years, but it was not until the 1960s that the structure and pharmacology of its primary phytocannabinoid components, cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) were identified, and another genera…

Acute administration of cannabidiol in vivo suppresses ischaemia-induced cardiac arrhythmias and reduces infarct size when given at reperfusion.

Authors: Sarah K. Walsh, Claire Y. Hepburn, Kathleen A. Kane, Cherry L. Wainwright
British Pharmacological Society, July 2010

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid, with anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and has recently been shown to exert a tissue sparing effect during chronic myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion (I/R). However, it is not known whet…

The emerging role of the endocannabinoid system in cardiovascular disease.

Authors: Pál Pacher, Sabine Steffens
Seminars in Immunopathology, June 2009

Endocannabinoids are endogenous bioactive lipid mediators present both in the brain and various peripheral tissues, which exert their biological effects via interaction with specific G-protein-coupled cannabinoid receptors, the CB(1) and CB(2). Pathological overactivation of t…

Cardiovascular pharmacology of cannabinoids.

Authors: P. Pacher, S. Bátkai, G. Kunos
Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, 2005

Cannabinoids and their synthetic and endogenous analogs affect a broad range of physiological functions, including cardiovascular variables, the most important component of their effect being profound hypotension. The mechanisms of the cardiovascular effects of cannabinoids in…