Young men who tested positive for cannabis had more severe heart attacks and worse cardiac findings than drug-free patients

Cross-sectional study of 138 male patients aged 40 or younger with acute myocardial infarction admitted to a university hospital cardiac care unit in Egypt. Patients were divided by urine toxicology: cannabis-only (n=23), other substances (n=28), and negative (n=34). Cardiac evaluation included echocardiography and coronary angiography.

Young people generally have very low rates of heart attack. Finding that cannabis-positive young men had more severe cardiac presentations despite fewer traditional risk factors suggests that cannabis may be an independent cardiac risk factor. The Egyptian context is important because cannabis use patterns differ from Western countries.

Cannabis can acutely increase heart rate and blood pressure and has been associated with coronary vasospasm (temporary artery narrowing). This study suggests these effects may be clinically significant enough to trigger heart attacks in young men, even without the diabetes, hypertension, and obesity that typically cause cardiac events.

Small sample from a single hospital in Egypt. Cross-sectional design cannot prove cannabis caused the heart attacks. Urine testing detects cannabis use within days, not necessarily acute intoxication at the time of the event. Tobacco smoking was common across groups and is itself a cardiac risk factor. The cannabis products used in Egypt may differ in composition from those elsewhere.