smoking causing heart problems?

About a week ago after smoking a bowl i laid down for about 30 minutes and my heart started beating fast so i got up went to a different room and sat down for a minute and when i stood up i got really light headed. My brother inlaw is a nurse and he said i should lay down so i did then began to have cold shakes and after laying down for a while my heart seemed to be beating normal. Now last night i smoked another bowl wasnt very high so i gave up and went inside when i stood up my heart started beating fast again and it seemed to slow and speed up again all night until i went to sleep. That night i woke up at about 2 in the morning and felt really out of it and like i was going to pass out again and today i havent really felt right at all. Since then i havent smoked any weed and went cold turkey on ciggarettes anyone know what is happening to me any info would be a great help! :(

That's a common response to smoking weed. And it may be partially a response to smoking itself and not so much to weed. But basically, you had a sort of "adrenergic" response (as if you'd had a burst of adrenalin) and felt your heart respond to that. Before the THC and CBD and other cannabinoids kick in, you get some vaso-constriction right after smoking. After a time, that constriction lessens and the veins and arteries in your body relax and dilate. But during that first vaso-constriction phase, you feel your heart race. This is when folks have panic attacks and jitters. It's when they feel an energetic high. And this response is especially likely when you're smoking more Sativa-heavy strains of weed, which have a stimulant-like effect.

One of the lesser known facts about weed smoking is that within that first hour or two of smoking, your risk of heart attack increases by about five times what it normally is. You're also at greater risk of arrhythmias during this time. Although lots of people enjoy touting the fact that no one has ever died from smoking weed, the medical community knows that plenty of people have likely died from weed-smoking-initiated heart attacks. Only the official cause, of course, is a heart attack. But weed smoking does present some risks to the heart.

Go easy next time you smoke. Maybe try switching to a new strain. And make sure you're in good cardiovascular shape if you're going to be a smoker because if you're not, you may be at risk. (I'm guessing you're quite young and fairly healthy, but if you've been a cigarette smoker, that's already put you at some risk of cardiovascular troubles.) If all else fails, get a vaporizer and take your cannabis in that way. Good luck!

Thanks alot for that information I smoked today and got pretty stoned my heart just beat a little faster than normal but i didnt feel at all bad like I did the other few times. Yes I am 16 and have smoked weed and ciggarettes for a couple years now but I no longer smoke cigarretes after what has happened the last few nights :)

One of the lesser known facts about weed smoking is that within that first hour or two of smoking, your risk of heart attack increases by about five times what it normally is. You're also at greater risk of arrhythmias during this time. Although lots of people enjoy touting the fact that no one has ever died from smoking weed, the medical community knows that plenty of people have likely died from weed-smoking-initiated heart attacks. Only the official cause, of course, is a heart attack. But weed smoking does present some risks to the heart.

This part here is what scares me if I get high and may have a heart attack I would rather not get high. My friend had this happen to him also a few months back and he actually went to the emergency room he almost died that night his heart rate was so high and the doctors told him he almost had a stroke so he dostent smoke anymore :(

Well, Raiden, the real chances that you would have a sudden-death heart attack or such overwhelming tachycardia (racing heartbeat) that you might die are still quite low. Sounds like your friend might have had something else working against him besides weed, like perhaps anxiety, too, and possibly also other substances in his system? People's hearts can lose their ability to pace themselves, but in young folks--and I'm assuming you and your friend are both somewhere in the 16 - 20 range--that doesn't happen terribly often. That's why I wondered if he might also have panicked, too, or perhaps had other meds in his system. Panic attacks are common occurrences after smoking.

You'll have to decide whether, for you, the benefits of smoking weed outweigh the risks. If you're really worried about it, don't smoke. And if you're worried enough that you want to check out your potential cardiac risk, go to your doctor and get referred to a cardiologist so you can have an echocardiogram, which'll tell you once and for all whether you have anything at all heart-related to worry about. Better safe than sorry!

Raiden, you'll see that I've sent you a quick PM about your last post, which I'm going to delete. No problem to keep discussing heart-related matters. You simply need to keep any talk of substances limited to cannabis. Thanks!

I was planning on making a thread similar to this lol. I was wondering if smoking weed made it better or worse on your heart. Because it's like, so fragile when you think about it. If your heart stops, you stop. Such a scary thought, almost leaves you paranoid wondering if your heart is going to stop on you :p. So that is why I want to do what ever I can to keep my heart in good shape. So if marijuana can actually help initiate something that can damage my heart I wanna know.

I get the tachycardia, but was told it was common. I've been to the hospital a couple times for heart related problems due to things other than MJ. I still get the racing heart beat from time to time, and like birdgirl said, the sativa strains make it worse, which is why I smoke indica nowdays.

Most of my problem is due to panic, and anxiety, as they have found nothing wrong with my heart yet. It's scary when it happens, but for me, it only lasts between 30 mins to an hour.

I just try to stay calm, and relaxed and that seems to help, too.

Going to make my self seem tarded but how can I respond to a PM? :D and about that whole sativa/idica thing i just found out what the difference was but yea Idica ive got a sack or two that sat me on the couch all day but and love that high sadly i dont know anyone that grows thier own stuff so I just pay 25$ for the half Oz and hope for the best

I just try to stay calm, and relaxed and that seems to help, too.

I smoked half a joint yesterday and was higher than a hippie in a helicopter dont know how that happened. My heart beat just a little faster than normal tried not to think about dying and was fine even when I sobered up I didnt feel out of it like times i started freaking out when i was high and came down.

Yeah, it sounds like a lot of your problem is simple panic, and anxiety like me. The weed will increase your heart rate, but if you can keep your calm, it's not nearly as bad as when you FREAK OUT about it, ya know?

Stay chill, and you should be fine. You're young, yes? I'm 35 and have a 'little' more to worry about when it comes to heart conditions.

Later,

Yea im only 16 when my buddy went to the ER he was making it worse by being stoned and watching the machine that was checking his heart rate.

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Originally Posted by raiden41

Going to make my self seem tarded but how can I respond to a PM? :D and about that whole sativa/idica thing i just found out what the difference was but yea Idica ive got a sack or two that sat me on the couch all day but and love that high sadly i dont know anyone that grows thier own stuff so I just pay 25$ for the half Oz and hope for the best

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Hey, hun. You can't respond to PMs, actually. It's a one-way system, basically, and we mostly use it for infractions and warnings and the like. There are a few members online who had one of the former "cafe" memberships, a paid membership, essentially, and they have PM capabilities. But other than that, it's a one-way system. I'm going to put my email address into my signature if I happen to be the one you were wanting to respond to. (Just a guess.)

Eh no problem its cool just wanted to apologize for that post

Don't worry, hun. Not a problem at all. You're just learning the ropes, and I am, too. (I'm a new moderator.) No apologies necessary. I just want you to be taking real good care of your heart and not messing with that other stuff we can't talk about here. Bad news for the heart, those things. We want you to live to be 120! And if you take good care of your heart and mind, you can.

No need to worry I stopped all of that stuff long ago when I learned it could put lesions i think it was..? scars on your brain :o Can I say that much?

Heart racing doesn't bother me anymore, I accepted that a change in the heart rate is an effect of smoking cannabis and it only seems to happen for the first few minutes of while I'm high, then later I wont notice it. But I just don't want to over work my heart :(.

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Originally Posted by raiden41

Yea im only 16 when my buddy went to the ER he was making it worse by being stoned and watching the machine that was checking his heart rate.

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That exact reason gives us: "cannabis causes the most emergency room visits amongst teens" not true one bit..I believe it's alcohol..but either way..why would you go to the hospital because your heart is beating a bit faster? That's what marijuana does to you..it makes you feel different..(not the same as you usually do) Oh..my wow. Could you please give me the link to where you found the information about marijuana causing heart attacks? Thanks.

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Originally Posted by raiden41

No need to worry I stopped all of that stuff long ago when I learned it could put lesions i think it was..? scars on your brain :o Can I say that much?

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It doesn't put scars on your brain, nor does it negatively impact your body aside from a bit of respiritory damage in the lungs. But go on, and quit "that stuff." And remember what the government told us..In Marihuana lurks: Murder, insanity, and death!!! Stay away from the evil weed. Anyone on this website who has been smoking for the majority of their lives is lying to you when they tell you that they've never had any adverse side effects associated with cannabis. :thumbsup:

Markass, one of the threads above was deleted, so you can't see that "that stuff" in my thread above wasn't a reference to cannabis. It was a reference to two other substances that are far more damaging.

Here are some links about the increased heart-attack risk:
http://www.researchmatters.harvard.e...article_id=123
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s107589.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/664296.stm

And here's a good one about the fact that, even though weed contains more carcinogenic chemicals than tobacco, it isn't associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. They think that's because the THC has a cancer-inhibitive effct. (We already know that it seems to have that same inhibitive effect on certain types of cancerous nerve cells in the brain.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...501729_pf.html

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Originally Posted by orangeman

I was planning on making a thread similar to this lol. I was wondering if smoking weed made it better or worse on your heart. Because it's like, so fragile when you think about it. If your heart stops, you stop. Such a scary thought, almost leaves you paranoid wondering if your heart is going to stop on you :p. So that is why I want to do what ever I can to keep my heart in good shape. So if marijuana can actually help initiate something that can damage my heart I wanna know.

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Technically its not the heart that determines if you alive or dead, its actually the brain waves that determin if your alive or dead, but then again, with no heart beat, theres no blood going anywhere, including the brain, so infact your right in a way, and the heart is amazing how it can do what it does.

There were some study's into heart transplants and they think the heart may have a "Brain" .. well a collection of cells, similar to the brain, so keep it in rhythm and all this squiddly diddly.

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Originally Posted by Markass

That exact reason gives us: "cannabis causes the most emergency room visits amongst teens" not true one bit..I believe it's alcohol..but either way..why would you go to the hospital because your heart is beating a bit faster? That's what marijuana does to you..it makes you feel different..(not the same as you usually do) Oh..my wow. Could you please give me the link to where you found the information about marijuana causing heart attacks? Thanks.

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If you ever experienced what he experienced, you would know. Its not just a 'racing heart'. Other things fall into play as well. One being extreme panic and anxiety. Palpitations, and the feeling your heart is going to beat out of your chest. Dizzyness, light headedness, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, etc..

Many people, I would assume, have gone to the ER after smoking cannabis because cannabis can, at times, bring on such symptoms. Some people are in such a panic when this happens, they actually believe they could die, and that is always cause for a vist to the ER, imo.

Better safe than sorry, right? (The heart is nothing to be played around with)

Two cents...

Four years ago I had a mild heart attack. I had just smoked about a pack of cig's and a big fat joint and freaking over computer problems and fixing them. I now have stinth's on both side of my chest. I'm 47 now and don't smoke cig's since then. I still get the rush of anxiety from good weed but get used to the strain quick. The lack of oxygen in your blood does worse than the constriction of blood vessels. Paranoia is even worse. I am also battleing cronic pain. My doctor can't write a script for MJ and I am alergic to most all pain meds but he would rather I take care of pain my way. If you have doubts about your cardio vascular system then have it checked or quit now. I have smoked MJ since about 18 years of age. Stress causes more heart attack than most anything else but we seldom here of the many other thing a person is doing at the time. On one last note a study just showed that MJ can grow new brain cells in lab rats, almost unheard of. I'm about 2 big fat ones away from being an Einstien. LOL Just remember paranoia can destroy ya is not a joke. You can think yourself into a heart attack without the help of drugs. Be safe and don't do anything that you don't know what will happen. All drugs affect each of us different. Bruce Lee was known as hash eater so as to not affect his lungs and he could stop his heart just by thinking and meditating. This brought on an early death for him, so sad but a little known fact. I'm rambling now and the busted was because most of my friends are gone or dead from other than drug reasons and I grew for my self only to have my own nephew turn me in cause I would not sell to him so he could be a big shit with th cronic. I have not smoked in months and feel worse than ever. Life sucks sometimes but goes on.