Cardiac Arrhythmias and Self-reported Marijuana Use

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For a study, researchers sought to assess cross-sectional relationships between current and former marijuana use and arrhythmias in 1,485 participants of the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis who underwent comprehensive ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring with the Zio Patch XT.

Incidences of premature atrial contractions, supraventricular tachycardia, premature ventricular contractions, and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) were observed.

Compared with never users, participants reporting current marijuana use (n=40, 3%) had more supraventricular tachycardia/day (adjusted geometric mean ratio [GMR] 1.42, 95% CI 0.87 to 2.32), more premature atrial contractions/hour (GMR 1.22, 95% CI 0.72 to 2.13), and more NSVT/day (GMR 1.28, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.28).

Additionally, greater marijuana usage was associated with more NSVT episodes each day (GMR 1.56, 95% CI 1.13, 2.17). In conclusion, the outcomes suggested that current marijuana use might be connected to a higher prevalence of arrhythmias. The findings of the study supported this hypothesis.

Therefore, it was necessary to conduct an additional prospective study to ascertain whether or not the use of marijuana led to atrial and ventricular arrhythmias and other cardiovascular issues in older people.

Region: North America

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