Weed and an increased heart rate...

Of course it does; smoking anything will do that. The rapid heartrate thing is present in all smokers, and replicates the body's natural 'panic' mechanism, which is one reason people often get paranoid on weed.

Aside from the heart disease, there are also implications on one's risk of cancer, and long term mental health.

 

It can happen regardless of how you smoke; it's the boy's natural defence against toxins.

 

I used to have SVT, which is a form of tacycardia. Its a condition where teh heart gets stuck on a loop and continuously cycles itsself.

Theres a technique someone came up with to make it go away.. Basicly you take a deep breath, and contract your diazaphram really hard and kinda make a grunting noise. Its a little strange, but it works.

One technique I developed myself and it seemed to be more effective then the one that my doctor showed me was to jsut hold my breath. As soon as the heart started its abnormal rhythm, take a huge deep breath, and just hold it for as long as you can.

Apparently SVT is a very common thing.. like 1 in 20 people or something.

It never was life threatening for me. It almost always went away within 2 or 3 minutes, and really didnt do anything besides kinda scare the shit out of me when I was 12.

 

I'd just like to point out that all the most recent studies done on marijuana and lung cancer are showing that theres no connection to marijuana smokers having an increased risk of getting lung cancer. However the combination of cigerettes and marijuana greatly increases the chances of getting lung cancer. Recent studies have shown that some of the chemicals in marijuana may even help someone from getting lung cancer. Just thought i'd through that out there.

About the mental health thing, maybe marijuana might cause mental problems for some smokers but I've been smoking marijuana for 14 years now and I dont have any mental conditions because of it, I also have never meet someone who got a mental illness from smoking weed. I think the whole mental illness thing is just propaganda from the government to make weed look bad. I have however seen people with mental illnesses like bi-polar and it got worse when they smoked marijuana

 

ur heart doesnt go that much faster if your afraid of heart disease dont smoke

 

I didn't say the risk was higher, Sugar, but anything that poisons out your lungs will increase the risk to some extent.

At the risk of sounding pedantic.....are you quite sure about that? Not everyone with MH issues is a dribbling loony, you know. Just 'cos it hasn't happened to you yet, doesn't mean it never will.

I feel it would be foolish of me as a MH pro not to warn people to be vigilant; after all, there is a lot of head-in-the-sand attitude 'round these parts...

Respectfully
LGx

 

My question is HOW it increases heart rate. I know that the THC does, but what exactly is it doing in the body that makes the heart rate increase?

 

it increases your blood pressure.

 

Then how does it do that?

I know it lowers bp through vasodilation. But have heard the increase is only temporarily.

 

I know this guy probably doesn't come here anymore but that is 100% WRONG!!

Marijuana does NOT cause heart disease, cancer of any type or mental health disorder.
Nor does it kill brain cells or cause death.

 

Except vaporizing isn't smoking... and the toxins you refer to come from the burning process, not THC. THC, alongside every other psychoactive chemical in marijuana, is not a toxin as a toxin is defined as "a poisonous substance that is a specific product of the metabolic activities of a living organism and is usually very unstable, notably toxic when introduced into the tissues, and typically capable of inducing antibody formation" by Merriam-Webster. So, I believe the correct answer to 4ction's question is no, it does not occur with people who vape their bud.

 

SVT = Supra-Ventricular Tachycardia... It's where the top half of your heart beats rapidly, while the lower half of your heart maintains normal rhythm. It is fairly common, but can be life threatening. Your AV node typically prevents the electrical pulses from traveling from your Atria to your Ventricles during an episode of SVT. Sometimes the node can fail, and this can cause Ventricular Tachycardia, which can cause Ventricular Fibrillation - which is always fatal if not treated immediately.

People who smoke both tobacco and MJ are shown to have longer life expectancies than someone who smokes tobacco alone. There are several chemicals in MJ that prevent cancer cells from forming.

Also, MJ can trigger mental healthy problems in people who already have them underlying. It doesn't cause the illness - just brings the already existing illness to the surface. MJ has been shown to treat disorders like depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia.

It increases your heart rate only in lower doses. It does this by causing your Autonomic Nervous System to send out an increased amount of Sympathetic Tone. In higher quantities, it causes your ANS to send out more Parasymthetic Tone (aka Vagal Tone) - which causes your heart rate to slow down.

Sorry to break it to you, but that isn't very accurate. You can't OD on MJ - but it very well CAN kill you if you have certain heart problems (certain valve problems, rhythm problems, or congestive heart failure)... There are several well documented cases of people with Long QT Syndrome dying while in the act of smoking MJ.

 

Just don't smoke it; make edibles

 

Yea I would not recommend medical mj to people with underlying heart conditions. But then again, no one has ever died from smoking too much, so therefore no one really knows just how much smoking will affect a heart condition.

 

I smoked some super silver haze with my uncle on christmas one year, he never smokes, it was his first time smoking in almost a decade.

Anyway, it had him so paranoid he was peeking through windows thinking the cops were outside for almost 2 hours.

Wanted to share that

 

THC affects your Autonomic Nervous System, and thus, will affect your heart rate & rhythm. No matter how you consume it.

People have died while smoking A bowl, joint, blunt, bong, etc with Long QT Syndrome. It can also be fatal in lower doses for those with Aortic Valve problems - or severe Mitral/Tricuspid Valve problems.

It has been shown to help protect the heart/brain in the event of a heart attack or stroke, though. It has also been shown to stabilize heart rhythms in those with certain tachycardia disorders (A. Fib., A. Flutter, and other SVT's).

When it comes to heart problems I know my shit. I had my cardiologist thinking I went to medical school. After having a lot of people diagnosed with them in my family, then finally, myself - I did A LOT of research. Even taught myself how to read an EKG. I had to. I had a few stupid ass doctors who missed potentially life threatening irregularities (later diagnosed by a better doctor)...

 

I'm interested in where you learnt all of how weed effects the heart.