Weed and an increased heart rate...

How does marijuana affect the heart?
Marijuana use increases the heart rate as much as 50 percent, depending on the amount of THC. It can cause chest pain in people who have a poor blood supply to the heart - and it produces these effects more rapidly than tobacco smoke does.

 

cottons heart is kind of tachy. He has a heart condition.

 

edit2post

 

I have aorta regurgitation and very slight MVP but my cardiologist said weed in moderation wouldnt hurt it. lol wonder if I should trust that

where are the reports of people dying from smoking a bowl?

and as for it being fatel for people with severe heart disorders, is that because of the general increase and heart rate, or is it because of something else? If these people can do aerobic exercise and be fine, does that mean weed is safe to?

 

I have posted something of the like in a different thread here, but I guess it could benefit this thread as well. I was asking a question so if anyone does know the answer, feel free to leave some feedback.

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Couple months ago the same thing happened to me, but I guess to a greater extent. After smoking a blunt of sativa (that could have been the problem) to two people, I experienced something I had never experienced before. First I felt very light headed and felt as if this is the highest I had been in a long time, eventually telling my friend to get out and drive for me. Then it happened. I started experiencing severe chest pain, as if I were having a heart attack and that's exactly what I thought it was at the time. This last several minutes until my friend got me to the hospital, where it eventually cooled down. They took my blood pressure and it was wayyyy over what it should have been. They ran a series of heart tests on me, including MRI and CAT scans, but could not find anything wrong with my heart. They asked me several times if I had done cocaine that night since it speeds up your heart rate like that, but my only guess is that the weed could have been laced or have had added chemicals in it to make it more potent. Could be unlikely though since it was purchased from a medical marijuana clinic, but who knows, someone DID grow it. Only thing they concluded was the fact that I have PVCs (premature beats) of the heart. They put a heart monitor on me to watch my heart rhythms and so on and they don't know why a 21 year old would be having so many PVCs. Everyone has these premature beats apparently, but not everyone can feel them. I guess mine is just a higher amount of premature beats than I should be having at my age. I have not smoked weed since, but would love to, but just the fear of that happening again stops me. I had been smoking for about 6 years straight and never experienced something like that since. Only thing I can probably think of was the fact I felt very light headed and almost blacked out maybe 3-4 weeks prior to this situation after once more smoking a blunt with serveral people, hotboxing at that. Could have been the lack of oxygen, but it happened by the time I got home not anytime soon after smoking the blunt. My question is what would happen if I were to eat marijuana? Maybe a pretty potent edible or something of the like? Would there be any effects to the heart such as there was when I smoked and whatnot? I've ate edibles before, but I am just being safe this time around. Mind you that I have not smoked in about 3 months, what could be some possible side effects to someone who has experienced this?

 

This thread really motivated me to sign up for the site.
Some of those contributing really know their cardio function.

I have a very rare bone disease that manifests itself in so many ways.
Profound chronic pain for one.
Left ventricular hypertrophy for two.....
I too don’t have a medical degree but am incredibly well versed in bone metabolism. So say my various med specialists.

So, new to this web site and I’m reading this thread,
some good observations etc…. some reactionary stuff as well.
Came to mind: What about the effect of heart meds?

From my real world experience I was prescribed Diltia XT 180mg qd. for HTN.
Then a few months pass, routine EKG as part of a cardio workup and ka-ching; Stage 1 AV block.
Putting two and two together I ask the cardio guy can I stop the Diltia. Sure, maybe do Norvasc.
Next EKG; guess what…. AV block gone.
General Practitioner had prescribed the Diltia not the cardio guy. Ding! Wrong..

IMHO Doin’ a blunt with cardio problems may put you at risk, as some have pointed out, in particular if you don’t know your cardio health or condition, your meds and your boostin’ or using street weed, who knows what’s in it.
.
In general, cardio guy sez’s anything in moderation; wine, weed….wuz gonna write women but that would start somethin’ all over.

OB

 

I get an increased heart rate for about 20 minutes after smoking. I HAVE to sit down or lie down or else I get freaked out. I often nearly black out. I also black out on the first day of my period (usually) so I got my heart checked out and apparently nothing was wrong so who knows.

Im kinda worried now. Just thought I'd share. Anyone else tend to black out on blood loss or weed?

 

ahhh jeeze. one in four adults have a mental health issue. so its crap to say that almost anything creates an issue, it might just intensify one already present

 

Ya know, there's a fair amount of studies covering much of this in my list- just click a link and start reading.




Granny

 

"It can have harmful effects in two ways. First, when the heart beats too rapidly, it performs inefficiently (since there is not enough time for the ventricles to fill completely), causing cardiac output to diminish. Second, it increases the work of the heart, causing it to require more oxygen while also reducing the blood flow to the cardiac muscle tissue, increasing the risk of ischemia and resultant infarction."

I haven't seen any studies on the increased risk of heart disease for pot smokers, but I know there are studies that correlate Tachycardia with heart disease. Does this mean that smoking weed may cause heart disease or other cardiac problems?[/QUOTE]



Being a graduate neuroscience major who has read quite a bit of research articles and books regarding the mechanisms of marijuana, I can happily answer your question. It doesn't matter if you smoke weed or eat it, you will still get tachycardia. THC is what raises your heart rate, not the smoke. Tachycardia isn't something to worry about, it just means that your heart rate is above 100BPM. In able for your cardiac output to decrease, your heart rate would have to be near or above your maximum heart rate, which is usually 180-200BPM for young healthy adults. Cardiac Output = stroke volume x heart rate. Yes stroke volume does decrease when the heart beats faster (because of less ventricle filling) but your cardiac output will still increase so there's really nothing to worry about. If THC is causing your heart to beat faster than 170BPM, then yes you should quit. THC should induce tachycardia, increase cardiac output with increased cardiac labor and oxygen demand. THC willl also produce vasodilation at the periphery, orthostatic hypotension, and reduced platelet aggregation. Since the heart will have to work harder, bradycardia can actually occur in heavy users, which is a lowered resting heart rate which is very healthy and is usually acquired through heavy endurance training. The actual mechanism of THC raising the heart rate is complex since THC causes stimulation and inhibition of many mechanisms that can influence the heart but the overall increase in heart rate is believed to be from inhibition of the vagal nerve. CBD has little effect on heart rate but increases coronary blood flow and CBN decreases the heart rate so I would imagine that vaporizing should favor tachycardia over smoking. If anyone knows what effect THC does to the coronary arteries, chime in because I sure don't. The max heart rate after smoking marijuana will peak at approximately 25 minutes after smoking so if your concerned, I would recommend measuring your BP and heart rate around 25 minutes or so.

 

Many people have found that magnesium supplementation relieves their heart symptoms. This mineral is essential for heart functions, and other organs, and most people are not getting sufficient amounts of it through food alone (although it is possible to do so). I've started taking mag supplements, 400 mg a day, including the appropriate balance of calcium because each is dependent on the other.

 

It wasn't too long ago that the APA had homosexuality as an MH issue. MH is the least legitimate component of the rather funky and not so consistent profession of medicine which itself is just an extension of the least legitimate of all the sciences, biology.

 

Ive been smoking for about 4 years now. Throughout this time ive used many devices papers and what have its and up until about a year after starting smoking i would get crazy tachycardia that was so crippling it sent me into a panic attack almost every time i would smoke a bong. I started limiting myself and smoking small amounts to try and avoid this but after every hit it seemed like my heart would start racing. It was very unpleasant, and i always wondered wtf was happening to me. Recently i had bought a vaporizer. I have to say i no longer feel the negative effects of the increased heartrate, i dont go into panic attacks and i can breath after i take huge rips.It seems as though before i would be gasping for air after a bong hit and the lack of air sends my heart into panic or something but then i figured out it was the tachycardia. It seems as though vaping still gives you a slight increase in heartrate (im feeling my pulse after a few bowls from the da budda) but nothing negative or "toxic".

So if you have noticed you have tachycardia after combusting, try vaporizing!

 

No the tachycardia is not caused by smoking it is caused by THC.

The heart rate is typically elevated 30%-60% above average for 20 minutes after ingestion. After that the heart rate actually goes below average. Scientists call this a "biphasic effect". The level of tachycardia is tied to the amount of THC ingested.

This has been studied in rats and humans.

The other main component of marijuana, CBD may actually counter the tachycardia effect of THC. But almost all marijuana out there is quite low in CBD.

Smoking anything creates chemical byproducts of combustion which are not good for you. However marijuana itself is not a proven cause of heart disease or cancer or mental health problems.

If you smoke out of a bong you are losing a lot of the active ingredients in the water.
If you are smoking a joint you are also inhaling the smoke of whatever you rolled it with.... paper smoke, tobacco smoke, cellulose...

Using a vaporizer is really the way to go if you are going to use it medically. The vapors produced do not penetrate into your lungs the way smoke does. The vapors stay more in the upper bronchial area, the smoke pentrates deep into the lungs. If you using marijuana for it's anti-asthma properties vaporizers are much better.

The real caution here is that if you already have a heart condition than the added tachycardia might be an issue. Best to talk to a doctor.

 

ok someone answer this for me. i am almost postive i have this increased heartrate thingy. one time it was so bad i though i was going to have a heart attack and die. at first i was all good just enjoying my high and then all of the sudden i thought i was going to have a heartattack. i was in a parinoid mindset though before because i just got back from school and i was smoking in my parents house. i smoked again and it wasnt as bad i just had to keep asuring myself that you cant die from weed. can i get it to go away or waht.

 

Only thing you can do is smoke less and stay calm. If you get anxious, you'll also cause a release in adrenaline which also increases heart rate.

There's also a way to low lower your heart rate by blowing out your mouth with you lips barely opened so that you cheeks are puffed up and you feel pressure on the back of your throat. This stimulates the vegus nerve which decreases heart rate. Or there another way where you try to breathe out while closing your airway, like when you're trying to take a shit lol. That's why some people have passed out on the toilet, because they decreased their heart rate doing that. If you feel your heart rate upping, or are getting paranoid, try doing that for a couple of times.

Here's more info on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver

I've also heard that CBN lowers heartrate since it's a depressant, anyone know if this is this true? If so then I would guess that smoking aged weed or weed with more amber trichomes would be better if you don't wan't much increased heartrate.

I wonder why that is, because vaporizing delivers more THC and less CBD so I would think it would make you heartrate increase more. Maybe you just feel calmer because you not smoking so you can breathe better whic calms you mind more which calms you body a bit.

I'm scared to vaporize, the last time I did, my heartrate went up to 200 bpm for about 15 minutes and only came down slowly over about an hour. But maybe that's because I was anxious as well.

 

I was wondering about this, I was watching the episode of entourage where drama gets a mmj card because he wants a hat in the smoke shop and he gets really fucked up and thinks his heart is going to come out of his chest. I got to thinking and it made me think, what if someone has a bad heart and they are overweight...couldnt they have a heart attack and die since the weed made their heart overwork itself? That would be consitered a heart attack death by most people but it was the weed that started the heart attack....couldnt this happen to someone???

 

People have died, but because they had underlying medical conditions. It would be more appropriate to say "no one has ever died from a MJ overdose"

Heart problems run big in my family. I have inherited several of them - some potentially life threatening. I learned this shit from doing hundreds of hours of research.

I have a lot of heart conditions: Atrial Fibrillation/Atrial Flutter (episodes of sustained, and non-sustained), Mitral & Tricuspid valve relapse (both with mild regurgitation), AV Block 3, Sinal Arrest (aka SA Block 2), Incomplete Right Bundle Branch Block, and I also have non-sustained ventricular tachycardias from time to time... If you know what even half of those mean - I give you props.

If you only have mild regurgitation, you should be OK. If you are healthy enough for aerobic workouts, you are healthy enough to smoke weed.

The cause of death varies depending on what type of condition the person has. If it is Long QT syndrome, it is believed to be THC's affect on the Autonomic Nervous System that causes dead. In a person with severe valvular disease, it is the increased workload on the heart that is the cause of death.

The reports of people with Long QT dying, while in the act of smoking, can be found here. Search: "Smoking MJ with Long QT Syndrome" or something along those lines. It happens often enough to where it shouldn't be hard foor you to find on your own.

Several people with Long QT have dropped dead, while in the act of smoking... Same with Coke, too, btw... Don't wanna do coke, or smoke weed if you have Long QT. Chances are it will kill you.

Yeah man... A lot of cardio meds can cause shit like AV block. Mostly the "blocker" type meds (beta, or calcium channel). They can damage the nerves in your heart - which is why I don't take mine.

If you're blacking out, that's not a good sign. When you got your heart checked, what tests did they do? If they only ran an EKG and did an echocardiogram, they likely missed any problems. Did you get a holter monitor? Or an event monitor to take home?

If not - you should go back and demand full testing (stress test, holter or event monitor, etc). Electrical problems are extremely difficult to diagnose because you have to be hooked up to an EKG (or something similar) while you're actually experiencing symptoms. If you're not symptomatic, and on an EKG, it will come back just fine.

Exactly! MJ does not cause mental health issues. It just brings them out. It is theorized that smoking while you're younger (and your brain is still developing) can cause maturity problems... I sorta believe it going by personal experiencee, and what I've seen happen in a lot of friends...

Magnesium is an electrolyte... Too much electrolytes can cause permenant damage to the nerves in your heart.

That is slightly incorrect. MJ smoke stays mostly in the upper bronchial areas. Cig smoke penetrates deep into your lungs, and the tiny little airways that are down there. This is one of the big reasons why cigs cause cancer, and MJ doesn't (not the only reason, just one of them).

Smoking less would actually increase your heart rate more. In low-moderate doses, THC increases your sympathetic output, which increases your heart rate (amongst other things). In HIGH doses - the opposite occurs. Parasympathetic output is increased, and your heart rate actually decreases.

I don't know about heart rate, but waiting for the trichs to go amber, and indica dominant strains are known to have less of a 'paranoia' affect. Maybe there is also a correlation to heart rate?

His heart rate is probably less with vaporizing, because he is taking in higher doses of THC than with smoking... Remember - with higher doses, your heart rate goes down (after the initial speedup).

 

Yes, it ccould.

If someone was real over weight, there is a good chance they have some type of ischemic heart disease... The increased workload on the heart could cause an infarction for some people with heart disease.

 

This is what I was thinking. I was just wondering because I am overweight, not like seriously overweight, im 265 pounds, but sometimes my chest constricts and makes me feel like im straining my heart too much or something. So when I smoke weed and my heart rate goes up, sometimes i panic like im gunna have a heart attack or my heart will just get to strained and stop working.