A 24-Year-Old Heavy Cannabis User Had a Heart Attack During Soccer With No Other Risk Factors | Research

The takeaway

A 24-year-old soccer player with no traditional cardiovascular risk factors but a history of massive cannabis use experienced an exercise-induced heart attack with complete coronary artery blockage.

Read this if you are a young, active cannabis user and want to understand potential cardiovascular risks.

Heart attack at age 24 with no traditional risk factors except heavy cannabis use

What the researchers found

A 24-year-old male soccer player presented with an acute coronary syndrome (heart attack) during exercise. He had no traditional cardiovascular risk factors (no diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking tobacco, or family history), but had a history of massive cannabis addiction.

Coronary angiography revealed complete occlusion of the proximal right coronary artery, and intravascular ultrasound showed atherosclerotic plaque disruption. Treatment involved thromboaspiration (removing the blood clot) and antithrombotic medications, which were successful without requiring stenting.

Why it matters

Heart attacks in 24-year-olds without traditional risk factors are extremely rare. The presence of atherosclerotic plaque and its disruption in a young, otherwise healthy athlete with heavy cannabis use adds to the evidence that cannabis may have cardiovascular toxicity, particularly when combined with physical exertion.

The numbers in context

24 years old. No traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Complete occlusion of proximal right coronary artery. Atherosclerotic plaque disruption on intravascular ultrasound. Successful treatment without stenting.

How the study worked

Single case report of a 24-year-old male presenting with exercise-induced acute coronary syndrome. Diagnostic workup included coronary angiography, intravascular ultrasound, and assessment of cardiovascular risk factors.

What this study cannot tell us

Case reports cannot establish causation. Other unmeasured factors could have contributed. The definition of "massive cannabis addiction" is not quantified in the abstract. Exercise itself can trigger coronary events in people with undetected plaque. This is a single case.

How to read the evidence

Single case report; provides an alert but cannot establish causation.

When this study was published

Published in 2013. The cardiovascular effects of cannabis have become an increasingly studied topic.

The bigger picture

Multiple case reports have linked heavy cannabis use to acute cardiovascular events in young people. While individual cases cannot prove causation, the recurring pattern of young cannabis users with cardiovascular events in the absence of traditional risk factors is concerning.

Questions still open

Does cannabis accelerate atherosclerosis in young people? Is the combination of cannabis use and heavy exercise particularly dangerous? Should young heavy cannabis users be screened for cardiovascular risk?

Common questions

Can cannabis cause heart attacks?

Individual case reports like this one cannot prove cannabis causes heart attacks. However, multiple reports of young cannabis users having cardiovascular events without traditional risk factors suggest a possible connection. Cannabis affects the cardiovascular system by increasing heart rate, affecting blood pressure, and potentially promoting inflammation in blood vessels.

Is it dangerous to exercise while using cannabis?

This case raises the question but cannot answer it definitively. Exercise increases cardiovascular demands, and cannabis increases heart rate. The combination could theoretically stress the cardiovascular system more than either alone. The case involved exercise-induced plaque disruption in a heavy cannabis user, but the relative contributions of cannabis and exercise cannot be separated.

Read the original research

Exercise-induced acute coronary syndrome in a 24-year-old man with massive cannabis consumption.

Acta cardiologica, 68(4), 425-8

View on PubMed ↗

Citation

Deharo, Pierre; Massoure, Pierre-Laurent; Fourcade, Laurent. (2013). Exercise-induced acute coronary syndrome in a 24-year-old man with massive cannabis consumption.. Acta cardiologica, 68(4), 425-8.