Within the study, researchers have found subtle but significant changes within the arteries of young cannabis users which could eventually cause Cardiovascular Disease (CVD).
Cigarette smoking hazards are alright known to all or any. But there’s not enough data to inform us about the future hazards of cannabis consumption. In recent times, the abuse of cannabis has grown significantly. Cannabis is the most ordinarily used recreational substance worldwide after alcohol.
“Cannabis is basically widely used as a recreational substance all around the world and its use has been increasing lately.
Scientists haven’t done that much research with cannabis,” said Christian Cheung, the lead author of the study which is published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
The team studied 35 people aged 19 to 30, half of whom were cannabis users. For all subjects, they used ultrasound imaging to seem at the guts and arteries. They measured arterial stiffness and arterial function, the power of arteries to appropriately expand with greater blood flow.
All three measures are indicators of cardiovascular health and potential disease risk. Arteries were found to be stiffer in users than non-cannabis users. The team measured how briskly a pressure wave would travel down the artery; stiffer arteries would transmit a wave more quickly.
In cannabis users, cardiac function, inferred from how the guts move as seen in echocardiography images, was less than in non-users.
However, the researchers were surprised to ascertain no difference within the dilation of arteries during changing blood flow. This is often because there’s generally reduced vascular function too alongside lower cardiac function and stiffer arteries in cigarette smokers.
“We don’t yet know why in cannabis users there is no difference in vascular function. These differences might tell us about the variations in how tobacco and cannabis are consumed, also as amounts and frequency and therefore the user’s age”, said Cheung.
The U of G researchers plan further studies to find out about the potential impacts of those changes and disease risk in people that use cannabis.
“This is exciting data that we have received. Even before more signs and symptoms of the disorder are present, there could also be more subtle indications of altered normal function. It also paves the way thanks to our next studies, aimed toward understanding the direct effects of cannabis consumption, and the way this might interact with common stressors of lifestyle, like exercise”, said Dr. Jamie Burr, the co-author of the study.
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