Cannabis Use and Heart Attack Risk: What the Evidence Actually Shows | Research

The takeaway

Pre-clinical research and case reports have linked cannabis to heart attacks since the 1970s, but the association likely depends on specific use patterns and consumer characteristics that current studies rarely capture.

Cannabis consumers with cardiovascular concerns, healthcare providers evaluating chest pain in young patients

Cannabis-MI link documented since the 1970s but poorly characterized

What the researchers found

The link between cannabis use and myocardial infarction may be specific to certain types of cannabis, patterns of use, and user characteristics. However, most meta-analyses can only compare "use vs. no use" because studies rarely capture the complexity of modern consumption patterns.

Why it matters

Cannabis-related cardiovascular events are considered rare but can be serious, especially in younger patients without typical cardiac risk factors. The review highlights that current evidence is too coarse to identify exactly who is at risk and under what circumstances.

The numbers in context

The cannabis-MI link has been documented since the 1970s. Most meta-analyses rely on binary categorizations of use vs. no use.

How the study worked

Narrative review and editorial commentary examining the evidence base linking cannabis use to myocardial infarction, identifying gaps in current research methodology.

What this study cannot tell us

This is a narrative review and editorial commentary, not a systematic review. It identifies research gaps rather than providing new quantitative data.

How to read the evidence

Moderate evidence overall for the cannabis-MI association based on accumulated case reports and pre-clinical data, though the review itself identifies major gaps in study quality.

When this study was published

2025 editorial reviewing evidence accumulated over 50+ years.

The bigger picture

As cannabis use increases and products diversify in potency and delivery method, understanding cardiovascular risk requires research that goes beyond simple "user vs. non-user" comparisons. Young, otherwise healthy patients presenting with chest pain and recent cannabis use may warrant closer cardiac evaluation.

Questions still open

Which specific cannabis products or consumption methods carry the highest cardiovascular risk? Is the risk dose-dependent? Do edibles carry different cardiovascular risk than smoked cannabis?

Common questions

Can cannabis cause a heart attack?

Case reports and pre-clinical research have linked cannabis to heart attacks, but the association appears to depend on the type of cannabis, pattern of use, and individual characteristics. The evidence is not yet strong enough to confirm a definitive causal link.

Who might be most at risk?

Young, otherwise healthy individuals presenting with chest pain after recent cannabis use may be at particular risk. However, research has not yet identified specific risk profiles with precision.

Read the original research

Rare but relevant: Cannabis use and myocardial infarction.

Addiction (Abingdon, England), 120(12), 2580-2584

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Padmanathan, Prianka; Roberts, Emmert. (2025). Rare but relevant: Cannabis use and myocardial infarction.. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 120(12), 2580-2584. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70128