Occasional cannabis use may result in a lower resting heart rate, according to new research published in The American Journal of Science.
Researchers analysed data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study, a prospective cohort of 5,115 participants contributing to 35,654 individual examinations over 30 years.
They explored the association between cannabis exposure and heart rate, adjusted for demographics, cardiovascular risk, alcohol and other illicit drug use, physical activity, and beta-blockers.
The results showed cumulative exposure to cannabis use was not associated with heart rate, with occasional cannabis users — defined as at least five times per month — exhibiting a lower resting heart rate than non-users.
The authors conclude: “Most participants in a middle-aged US population of self-reported Black and white participants did occasionally use cannabis in their life.
“Current cannabis use was associated with lower resting heart rate… past cumulative exposure to cannabis was not… indicating the effects of cannabis exposure on heart rate are transient.
“Our findings add to the growing body of evidence suggesting a lack of deleterious association of cannabis use at a level typical of the general population on surrogate outcomes of cardiovascular disease.”
