French national data showed serious and sometimes fatal cardiovascular events from cannabis | Research

The takeaway

Among 1,979 cannabis-related reports in France (2006-2010), 35 were serious cardiovascular events including heart attacks, arterial diseases, and brain vessel problems, with a death rate of 25.6%.

Read this if you want to understand the serious cardiovascular risks associated with cannabis use.

25.6% death rate among reported cannabis cardiovascular events

What the researchers found

From the French Addictovigilance Network database (2006-2010), researchers identified 35 serious cardiovascular complications among 1,979 total cannabis-related reports (1.8%). The patients were mostly men (85.7%) with an average age of 34.3 years.

The cardiovascular events included 22 cardiac complications (20 were acute coronary syndromes), 10 peripheral complications (arteriopathies and Buerger-like diseases affecting the limbs), and 3 cerebral complications. Nine of the 35 cases resulted in death, a mortality rate of 25.6%.

The authors noted that these events were likely underreported and emphasized that the public perception of cannabis as harmless was contradicted by these severe outcomes in young adults.

Why it matters

A 25.6% death rate among reported cardiovascular events is striking, even accounting for reporting bias toward severe cases. The occurrence of heart attacks, arterial disease, and stroke-like events in young adults challenges assumptions about cannabis safety.

The numbers in context

35 cardiovascular events out of 1,979 cannabis reports (1.8%). 22 cardiac events (20 acute coronary syndromes). 10 peripheral vascular events. 3 cerebral events. 9 deaths (25.6% mortality). Average age: 34.3 years. 85.7% male.

How the study worked

Analysis of spontaneous reports of cardiovascular complications related to cannabis collected by the French Addictovigilance Network from 2006 to 2010. All serious cardiovascular events were identified, described clinically, and followed to outcome.

What this study cannot tell us

Spontaneous reporting systems capture only a fraction of actual events (underreporting). Reporting bias favors severe cases, inflating the apparent death rate. Cannabis use was determined by patient report, and other substances may have been involved. The study could not calculate population-level risk rates.

How to read the evidence

National pharmacovigilance data with clinical follow-up, though subject to reporting bias and underreporting.

When this study was published

Published in 2014.

The bigger picture

This French national dataset provided some of the strongest pharmacovigilance evidence linking cannabis to serious cardiovascular events. While the absolute risk remains unclear, the severity of reported events, including death in young adults, suggests cardiovascular risk deserves more attention in cannabis safety discussions.

Questions still open

What is the true population-level cardiovascular risk of cannabis use? Are specific use patterns (frequency, route, potency) associated with greater risk? Should cardiovascular screening be recommended for regular cannabis users?

Common questions

Can cannabis cause heart problems?

This French national database identified 35 serious cardiovascular events in cannabis users over 5 years, including 20 heart attacks, 10 vascular diseases, and 3 brain events. Nine patients died. Most were young men.

How common are cannabis cardiovascular events?

The true frequency is unknown because spontaneous reporting captures only severe cases. These 35 events were 1.8% of all cannabis-related reports, but underreporting means the actual rate of cardiovascular complications is likely higher.

Read the original research

Cannabis use: signal of increasing risk of serious cardiovascular disorders.

Journal of the American Heart Association, 3(2), e000638

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Jouanjus, Emilie; Lapeyre-Mestre, Maryse; Micallef, Joelle. (2014). Cannabis use: signal of increasing risk of serious cardiovascular disorders.. Journal of the American Heart Association, 3(2), e000638. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.113.000638