vaporizer and heart/cardiac issues

[Jurdoc]

Ok, so here goes. I have a heart condition, a fairly serious one, for which I have an implanted cardiac defibrillator. in the past, on two or three separate occasions, after smoking cannabis, I have suffered attack-like symptoms, including loss of consciousness (after a 3 foot bong session lasting an hour or so) and had arrythmia (irregular heartbeat) and basically symptoms of my condition. i have begrudgingly come to the conclusion that i cannot safely smoke cannabis. however, my suspicion is that it is simply the element of smoking that precludes me from safely smoking-I mean the secondary chemicals produced when cannabis is combusted, such as benzene and napthalene, and cO2

looking up co2 and benzene in particular, inhaled, causes increase in heart rate. so my suspicion is that i can safely ingest cannabis through a vaporizer. does anyone out there have an opinion of this? several pot smokers that i know have told me, even they, without a medical cardiac condition, have smoked larger doses of cannabis, and that their heart rate really took off.

so folks...how about you? I am looking to the public for help with this. I am going to try vaporization and am praying to God that it is my ticket.

So, when you smoke, and when you vaporize, do you notice your heart rate being more severe when smoking? any thoughts would be kindly appreciated. until I figure this out, I cant enjoy any cannabis

Jurdoc Reviewed by Jurdoc on 09-09-2007. vaporizer and heart/cardiac issues Ok, so here goes. I have a heart condition, a fairly serious one, for which I have an implanted cardiac defibrillator. in the past, on two or three separate occasions, after smoking cannabis, I have suffered attack-like symptoms, including loss of consciousness (after a 3 foot bong session lasting an hour or so) and had arrythmia (irregular heartbeat) and basically symptoms of my condition. i have begrudgingly come to the conclusion that i cannot safely smoke cannabis. however, my suspicion is Rating: 5

[Storm Crow]

I hope the answers you are seeking are in one of these. -Granny:hippy:

Vaporization as a smokeless cannabis delivery system
Clinical Studies and Case Reports

Smokeless Cannabis Delivery Device Efficient And Less Toxic
Smokeless Cannabis Delivery Device Efficient And Less Toxic

Volcano is to Vaporizer As Porsche is to Automobile
CCRMG

Recommendation to Patients: "Donâ??t smoke, Vaporize"
CCRMG

Decreased respiratory symptoms in cannabis users who vaporize.
Decreased respiratory symptoms in cannabis users who vaporize.

Use of vaporizers reduces toxins from cannabis smoke
IACM-Bulletin

[birdgirl73]

I'm a cardiology patient, too, Jurdoc, with an atrial arrhythmia that is drastically affected by cannabis-smoking. At least it was the last time I smoked about a year ago, and everything I've read confirms that smoked cannabis isn't good for the cardiovascular system, especially the breathing and rhythm. For me, all sorts of things from eating and filling up my stomach, which stimulates the vagus nerve, to drinking more than a glass and a half of wine irritates my heart rhythm. That's the cross we people with diseases of arrhythmia have to bear. It's fairly easy to figure out that if things as simple as food irritate my heart, even eaten or vaped cannabis might, too, but I don't know that for sure. It's a risk I can't easily take since I live in a non-medical state and need to be a law-abiding citizen for a number of reasons. I'm also married to a cardiologist and he and my own doctors feel it's best to minimize irritation. (I'm about to have an ablation procedure to correct the rhythm for the second time. There's not yet a good implantable atrial defibrillator to fix atrial arrhythmias.)

One of these days, the scientist in me wants to try eating or vaping cannabis just to see how it'd affect me personally but I'm not willing right now to risk adding to the cardiac irritability. You must really want to use cannabis if you've got an implantable defbrillator to stand sentry over your ventricles and have had one syncopal episode already. If you take that risk and return to us to tell about it, let me in particular know how it goes.

My husband would tell you not to risk it, but he's like most docs, who believe in erring on the side of cardiac caution. As a doc-in-training and a heart patient myself, I'm pretty sure I agree with him.

[Jurdoc]

one of the interesting things to me is that, smoking cannabis, especially holding in a hit, really interferes with oxygen flow to the brain. this is precisely the nature of my cardiac issue. I have right ventricular tachycardia-displaysia. (think i spelled that right) when my right ventricle fails to pump blood to the brain, that is where my risk lies. so my thoughts are, if by vaporizing, I do not disrupt oxygen intake or flow to the brain, there is not going to be the risk of inducing an arrythmia. thats my thinking for now. so, as it stands, I am going to TRY vaporizing, and if I have any problems, like an elevated heart rate at all, then I will be waiting several years until I can eat it....until then.....

[CheebaMan]

i think consumption of cannabis in any form increases heart beat rate and such

[birdgirl73]

Interesting, Jurdoc! I just read about arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.

You have that in your genetic heritage that you know of? Are you of Italian or Greek heritage? Did you have a v-tach event or was someone smart enough, after you fainted, to do an EKG and an echo and diagnose the problem before you did?

I suspect that, for you, even holding in a breath of air is enough interruption--or was before your debrbillator, at least--to give you some syncope, right? If I can ever get him away from the football game long enough, I want my husband to come read this.

[THClord]

I am completely healthy, but once my heart rate was crazy after vaping. I think it could've been half an hour after vaping when I noticed my heart rate.

It could've been that I was extremely paranoid about getting caught that day, idk.

[Jurdoc]

birdgirl,

I responded to you via the email in your profile....

[Jurdoc]

it seems strange that it is known that cannabis affects the cardiovascular system, but few studies or information exists in regards to people with ventricular, arterial, or other such cardiovascular diseases/disorders

[birdgirl73]

Few studies exist about it with any disease, really, Jurdoc. Because it hasn't been allowed to be studied in this country, sadly, with only a few exceptions (Tashkin at UCLA, Harvard and the drug-abuse research arm of the NIH). Also--and when you think about this it makes sense--because people with ventricular, atrial, arterial and other cardio-v disease are a particularly vulnerable population to test it on. Most researchers are sensible enough not to risk that, just like you won't find them testing cannabis in maternal-fetal situations, small infants, children's brains, or other vulnerable populations. Ethically the testing itself presents plenty of dilemmas in those groups.

What little we know about cannabis still largely comes from mice and rat studies, where, inevitably, they've been administered isolated cannabinoid compounds instead of the whole smoke or eaten or vaped herb like humans take in. So that's not research from which humans can really draw accurate conclusions about its safety or efficacy. Then we have anecdotal, or personal story, experiences. Notice that here in this thread the best, most detailed information we have is what's happened to us personally, particularly those of us who've been aware of its effects on our hearts.

Sad, really, that we're still so in the dark. It ought not to be this way.