Researchers found evidence that e-cigarettes and marijuana have harmful effects on the heart that are similar to negative effects from traditional tobacco cigarettes, according to a new study from University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
Health effects from vapes, marijuana joints, and cigarettes all “open the door to abnormal heart rhythms,” according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Heart Rhythm.
“We found that cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana greatly interfere with the electrical activity, structure, and neural regulation of the heart,” lead author Dr. Huiliang Qiu, a postdoctoral scholar in the UCSF Division of Cardiology, said in a press release. “Often, any single change can lead to arrhythmia disease. Unfortunately, these adverse effects on the heart are quite comprehensive.”
To work well, researchers explained that the heart must pump blood efficiently and with the correct timing. This vital organ is equipped with its own electrical control system thanks to our nerves, according to The Hill.
If any part of the heart doesn’t handle those electrical signals properly, it can cause other regions of the organ to act asynchronously, meaning they will fight against each other rather than functioning as a single efficient pump.
This can lead to arrhythmias that can be life-threatening, according to researchers.
The study was funded by the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, the American Heart Association, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, the National Institutes of Heart, and other partners.