Relationship Between Marijuana Use and Hospitalization for Acute Coronary Syndrome.

BACKGROUND

Recreational marijuana use is rising, especially among young adults. The cardiovascular (CVD) effect of marijuana remains mostly unknown.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study of 14,490 patients admitted to our hospital between 2012 and 2014 who had urine toxicology done for various reasons. Patients with a primary diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were queried in both the marijuana-positive group (n = 59) and the marijuana-negative group (n = 195). The risks of having ACS were compared in both groups.

RESULTS

There was no difference in the risk of having ACS between the two groups in the population < 54 years of age (OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.67-1.20, p = 0.48). However, there was a significant difference in the risk of having ACS in the 18-36 age group (OR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.14-7.07, p = 0.01). Multivariate analysis performed to adjust for the potential confounding effects of smoking and cocaine use showed that marijuana use (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.68-1.25, p = 0.65) did not increase the likelihood of ACS for patients ≤ 54 years or for those in the 37-54 age group (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 0.79-1.53, p = 0.50). However, among the 18-36 age bracket, marijuana use was independently associated with a higher risk of ACS (OR: 5.24, 95% CI: 1.84-16.93, p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

In younger patients (age 18-36 years), marijuana use is independently associated with a five-fold higher risk of ACS.