An 70-year-old man nearly died after sucking a cannabis lollipop so potent it gave him a heart attack. Doctors say the lolly was laced with more than 12 times as much Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient that makes users high, than is found in a single spliff.
The elderly patient began having frightening hallucinations that sent his blood pressure soaring and led to a spike in stress hormones. These ended up triggering a myocardial ischaemia a particularly painful form of cardiac arrest caused by lack of blood flow to the heart.
The patient had already been diagnosed with hardening of the arteries, or coronary artery disease. He ate the controversial sweet to relieve a bout of chest pain. Dr Alexandra Saunders, a cardiologist said: “Marijuana can be a useful tool for many patients, especially for pain and nausea relief.
According to the cardiologist, like all other medications, canabbis does carry risk and side effects. In a recent case, inappropriate dosing and oral consumption of marijuana by an older patient with stable cardiovascular disease resulted in distress that caused a cardiac event and subsequent reduced cardiac function. Some users may benefit from the social and medical effects, but others will be at risk for adverse health outcomes.
Doctors say little information has been disseminated to patients or healthcare providers about cannabis use in older patients, especially in countries where weed is legalisedand in particular those with cardiovascular disease. For better or worse, providing advice and care to such patients who are using cannabis is now necessary for the provision of optimal medical care to these patients.