Does exposure to marijuana cause myocardial infarction?

2 out of 5 stars Prolonged cardiac arrest complicating a massive ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction associated with marijuana consumption. Orsini J et al. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect 2016 Sept 7;6(4):31695 Full Text The medical literature contains scattered, rare case reports and series describing myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, and cardiac arrest associated with exposure to cannabis. (Extreme emphasis on the word “associated.”) This literature is limited by a number of crippling problems, including failure to screen completely for presence of other drugs, failure to collect complete clinical data, and failure to establish causation rather than mere association. In addition, in many of these papers, exposure to marijuana is documented simply by the presence of a positive urine screen. Since this screen can be positive for days, weeks, or even months after last use, it is worthless for establishing acute exposure. This case report illustrates these problems vividly. A previously healthy 40-year-old man had tonic-clonic seizures followed by cardiac arrest at a party. EMTs documented ventricular fibrillation which responded to ACLS measures. At hospital troponin I was 8.32 ng/ml (< 0.1) and EKG showed ST elevation in II, III, aVF, and V1 – V5. Urine drug screen was positive for THC but negative for cocaine and amphetamines as well as synthetic cannabinoids. (The authors don’t report on exactly what agents were included ...
Source: The Poison Review - Category: Toxicology Authors: Tags: Medical cannabis cardiotoxicity heart attack cardiac arrest marijuana myocardial infarction Source Type: news