This Habit May Make You Six Times More Likely to Have a Heart Attack

Listen, by now you know the habits crucial for good heart health: A diet low in sodium and saturated and trans fats and that’s largely plant-based (like the Mediterranean diet!); keeping your blood pressure in check; getting regular exercise and managing stress the best that you can in this very darkest of timelines.

That said, there are some habits that may seem harmless on the surface that can actually raise your risk of a heart attack—and a new study reveals that one habit in particular that many people use to unwind can raise the risk of a heart attack by six times, especially in younger people. What is it and how can you stay safe?

This Habit May Make You Six Times More Likely to Have a Heart Attack

Sorry if this evokes flashbacks to Reefer Madness, but a new, large-scale study reveals that regular marijuana users under age 50 are more than six times more likely to have a heart attack than non-users in the same age range.

Researchers conducted two large-scale studies, including a meta-analysis of more than 75 million people and a retroactive study of 4.6 million individuals over the course of three years. Most participants in the meta-analysis were younger than 50 (though some individual studies didn’t provide participants’ ages) and otherwise healthy: They didn’t have any issues with their blood pressure, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, tobacco use, diabetes or prior heart disease history at the time of the study.

Their findings? Cannabis users presented more than six times higher risk of heart attacks, and that’s not all: The study also found that marijuana users were also four times more likely to suffer an ischemic stroke, twice as likely to have heart failure and three times more likely to die from a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event. Active cannabis users (as in, people using marijuana currently, not former users) were more than 150% more likely to have a heart attack than non-current users.

How Does Marijuana Affect Your Heart Health?

Here’s where it gets tricky: Scientists aren’t actually sure exactly how cannabis or its components impact the cardiovascular system. The current belief is that marijuana may cause arrhythmia, increase the need for oxygen in the heart muscle and cause endothelial dysfunction (meaning it makes the inner lining of the blood vessels not work properly), leading to disrupted blood flow. Some findings in the study showed marijuana had the highest correlation with heart attacks within one hour after use.

That said, those are just hypotheses so far, as more research needs to be done to find out exactly what’s happening. What’s more, researchers admitted that this study has some limitations.

“We should have some caution in interpreting the findings in that cannabis consumption is usually associated with other substances such as cocaine or other illicit drugs that are not accounted for,” lead research author Dr. Ibrahim Kamel, MD, MHA, said in a statement.

Should You Quit Using Cannabis to Protect Your Heart Health?

Listen, would it hurt to quit using out of an abundance of caution? Probably not. But if nothing else, talk to your doctor about your marijuana use honestly, because they’ll know what’s best for you and your individual situation—and in case of an emergency at some point, you’ll absolutely want to be forthcoming to avoid potential complications or weird drug interactions.

Dr. Kamel notes, “Asking about cannabis use should be part of clinicians’ workup to understand patients’ overall cardiovascular risk, similar to asking about smoking cigarettes. Patients should be forthcoming with their doctors and remember that we are their No. 1 advocate and having the full story matters.”

He added, “At a policy level, a fair warning should be made so that the people who are consuming cannabis know that there are risks.”