Medical cannabis news
Research and reporting worth knowing about, summarised in plain English. Every item links to the original publisher, who is responsible for what it says. A news story is not medical advice, and nothing here is a claim about what any treatment will do for you.
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Cannabis users had fewer irregular heartbeats on consumption days, study finds
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco followed 108 regular cannabis users for 14 days in a randomised crossover study, recording their heart rhythm continuously. On days participants used cannabis they had roughly 9% fewer premature atrial contractions — extra beats originating in the upper chambers of the heart — than on days they abstained. The finding, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, was the opposite of what the researchers had expected.
The effect did not extend to premature ventricular contractions in the lower chambers, the study measured only short-term changes in people who already used cannabis, and its senior author said the results should not change clinical practice until the longer-term consequences are understood. These were people using cannabis of their own accord, not patients on a prescribed cannabis-based medicine.