Leg artery problems more common in marijuana users |
| Marijuana users may be at higher risk for narrowed arteries in their limbs, a new analysis suggests. The findings are drawn from U.S. hospital data on 30 million patients, including 623,768 marijuana users. Compared to nonusers, the marijuana users were more than three times more likely to have so-called peripheral artery disease (PAD), researchers reported on Thursday at the annual meeting of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions in Phoenix. The researchers did not say whether duration or intensity of marijuana use had an impact on PAD risk. In PAD, narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the arms or legs. Untreated, it can lead to loss of mobility, reduced quality of life, heart attack, stroke and death. Overall, roughly 6.5 million U.S. adults have PAD, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "With the increase in marijuana use in the U.S., our findings show that users should be aware of the symptoms of PAD such as leg pain while walking, slower or no hair growth and feelings of coldness in the leg," study leader Dr. Hirva Vyas of Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey said in a statement. This newsletter was edited by Bill Berkrot. Source: Reuters Well now, my question about this article is what was in the unedited Statement? And why was it published in an edited format? How well respected are the cited institutions in this field of study? Or are they merely jumping on the lets slam cannabis bandwagon? Subsequent questions shoulld be: How many of the alleged 623,768 cannabis users actually presented with the listed symptoms they ascribe to cannabis use? How many of these with the symptoms they list also suffer from other conditions that cause the same problems? One example would be Type 2 Diabetes which I have, and had before I used cannabis, with consequent, quite bad, leg pain while walking. Not now though whether due to the dibetes medication or maybe somthing else I don't know. Admittedly I am a very light user of the wicked weed so perhaps I just dont use enough to get these symptoms. My personal view on this Reuters article is that it was a Slow News day and they needed filler, like there isn't enough bad shit going on in the world to keep them occupied. So a statement released by some insignificant organisation and a previously unknown (to me) institution must have come like manna from heaven to a global news organisation desperate for some filler material. I would still like to see the unedited statement though, to see what was edited out. Although to be honest I just can't be bothered looking for it. |
