While marijuana has been legalized in many states, research has shown that it could have detrimental health impacts for some — including a higher risk of heart attacks.

Two recent studies have linked cannabis use to cardiac events, particularly among young, healthier people, according to a release from the American College of Cardiology (ACC).

One study included more than 4.6 million people. The other was a large review that looked at 12 previous studies including more than 75 million people, which is said to be the largest combined study examining the relationship between cannabis and heart attacks.

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The findings will be presented at the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session March 29-31 in Chicago and will also be published in the journal JACC Advances.

Healthy cannabis users who were younger than age 50 were more than six times as likely to experience a heart attack compared to those who did not use the substance, the researchers found. 

They were also four times as likely to have a stroke, twice as likely to experience heart failure and three times as likely to die from a cardiac event.

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This risk was shown to peak as soon as one hour after cannabis use in one of the studies.

All participants had no previous heart conditions, were not tobacco users, had healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and had no history of diabetes.

“We do know that smoking cigarettes increases the risk of a cardiac event, and it’s reasonable to assume that smoking marijuana presents a similar risk.”

The study did not identify exactly how marijuana compromises heart health, but the researchers presented some possibilities.

Those included that it could “affect heart rhythm regulation, heighten oxygen demand in the heart muscle, and contribute to endothelial dysfunction, which makes it harder for the blood vessels to relax and expand, and can interrupt blood flow,” the release stated.

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“Asking about cannabis use should be part of clinicians’ workup to understand patients’ overall cardiovascular risk, similar to asking about smoking cigarettes,” said lead author Ibrahim Kamel, MD, clinical instructor at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and internal medicine resident at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Boston, in the release. 

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

There were some inconsistencies in the data regarding the duration and amount of cannabis use or the use of tobacco or other drugs, the researchers noted. (iStock)

The study did have some limitations, the researchers noted.

There were some inconsistencies in the data regarding the duration and amount of cannabis use or the use of tobacco or other drugs, the release stated.

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“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,” Kamel said. 

Healthy cannabis users who were younger than age 50 were more than six times as likely to experience a heart attack compared to those who did not use the substance. (iStock)

“Patients should be forthcoming with their doctors and remember that we are their No. 1 advocate and having the full story matters.”

The researchers called for additional studies to confirm the findings and identify the highest-risk groups.

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Dr. Jasdeep Dalawari, an Illinois-based interventional cardiologist and regional chief medical officer at VitalSolution, an Ingenovis Health company, was not involved in the study but reiterated its limitations as a retrospective study.

“A randomized control trial is ideal, but difficult with this topic,” he told Fox News Digital. “It raises questions as to the safety of marijuana as it becomes more ubiquitous.”

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

While Dalawari said this study is “interesting and concerning,” he also called for more data on the topic. 

“I advise all my patients to quit smoking all substances, because we do know that smoking cigarettes increases the risk of a cardiac event, and it’s reasonable to assume that smoking marijuana presents a similar risk,” he said.

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“It would be interesting to know if this study addresses the risks of ingesting versus smoking. Nevertheless, I would advise patients to limit cannabis use until definitive studies are published.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.

Scientists have long suspected that exposure to nature may reduce people’s experience of pain, and now there may be research to prove it.

A new study led by a team from the University of Vienna and the University of Exeter, which was published in the journal Nature Communications, revealed that nature not only relieves psychological symptoms of pain, but also affects the pain centers of the brain, as reported by SWNS.

This discovery could lead to further progress in the exploration of non-pharmaceutical pain treatments, according to the researchers.

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In the study, 49 healthy adults sat inside an fMRI scanner — a machine that monitors brain activity — while they received mild electric shocks.

Screens shown to the participants displayed three different images: a nature scene, an urban scene and a control scene of a nondescript room. Their brains were then checked to see if there was a difference in how much pain they experienced when viewing each scene, SWNS reported.

The researchers then used advanced machine learning to analyze raw sensory signals that the brain receives during periods of physical pain. Results showed that these signals were reduced when participants were exposed to nature scenes.

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This could mean that nature’s pain-relieving effects are not just due to the participants being more relaxed, but that they actually alter the brain’s pain-sensing pathways, according to the researchers.

The study revealed that exposure to nature has a physical effect on the brain’s pain-sensing pathways. (Katielee Arrowsmith / SWNS)

This research deepened a pre-existing understanding of how nature can affect symptoms of pain, according to University of Vienna PhD student Max Steininger, the lead author of the study.

“Numerous studies have shown that people consistently report feeling less pain when exposed to nature,” he was quoted as saying in a press release from the University of Exeter.

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This study supports previous research that suggested similar findings.

Forty years ago, American researcher Roger Ulrich studied how hospital patients used fewer painkillers and had faster recoveries when their windows overlooked a green space with trees compared to those who looked out at a brick wall, the release stated.

“Numerous studies have shown that people consistently report feeling less pain when exposed to nature,” stated the lead study author. (Katielee Arrowsmith / SWNS)

“Our study is the first to provide evidence from brain scans that this isn’t just a ‘placebo’ effect – driven by people’s beliefs and expectations that nature is good for them,” said Steininger.

“Instead, the brain is reacting less to information about where the pain is coming from and how intense it feels.”

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These findings suggest that the pain-relieving effect of nature is genuine, although still significantly less than traditional painkillers. 

Those involved in the study hope to incorporate alternatives, like experiencing nature, to improve overall pain management strategies.

The study highlights how even virtual encounters with nature may be beneficial for pain management. (Katielee Arrowsmith / SWNS)

Dr. Alex Smalley, a co-author from the University of Exeter, noted that virtual encounters can bring the healing potential of nature to people when they can’t get outside.

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“But we hope our results also serve as renewed evidence of the importance of protecting healthy and functioning natural environments, encouraging people to spend time in nature for the benefit of both the planet and people,” he said in the press release.

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He added, “The fact that this pain-relieving effect can be achieved through virtual nature exposure, which is easy to administer, has important practical implications for non-drug treatments, and opens new avenues for research to better understand how nature impacts our minds.”

Eight years after receiving a life-shattering diagnosis, a New Jersey mother credits an “amazing” new drug for stopping her disease in its tracks.

Raziel Green, 52, an active runner and mother of two, was diagnosed with a rare form of ALS in 2017.

The former retail manager first started experiencing symptoms more than 10 years ago, when her legs started to feel heavy during what would normally be an easy run, Green told Fox News Digital during an on-camera interview.

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“A couple months later, I started to struggle going up the stairs at my house,” she recalled.

Several months later, when Green started to experience balance issues and muscle loss, she decided to see a neurologist, who told her there was nothing wrong.

Knowing that her mother and aunt had both been diagnosed with a rare form of ALS, Green pushed for more opinions and tests. It wasn’t until she saw a third neurologist, who specialized in genetic diseases, that she was diagnosed with superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The disease, which is caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene, accounts for approximately 10% to 20% of genetic ALS cases and 1% to 2% of sporadic ALS cases, according to the ALS Association.

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Soon after her diagnosis, Green learned about a clinical trial at Mass General for an experimental drug — QALSODY® (tofersen), which is made by Biogen in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The medication is administered into the spinal fluid via a lumbar puncture every few weeks.

“We can speculate that because the drug targets the DNA, it could be curative if given early enough, but these trials have not been conducted yet.”

“I was given the opportunity and was fortunate enough to be a part of the trial,” she said.

“Knowing that we have the gene, I really wanted to do this not just for me and my family, but for others who have this form of ALS.”

“It gives my kids the opportunity to get tested and to have this medicine as a preventative treatment,” Green said of the medication QALSODY. (Raziel Green)

Within four months, Green said she saw a “huge difference,” and has not gotten any worse since.

“I saw a neurologist and she compared notes from between now and seven years ago, and she cannot see anything that is different from the day that I was diagnosed.”

Benefits and risks

QALSODY is designed specifically to treat the SOD1 form of ALS by lowering the toxic effects of the mutations in the SOD1 gene, according to Timothy M. Miller, MD, PhD, vice chair of neurology research and co-director of the ALS Center at Washington University in St. Louis.

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“About 20% to 25% of people with SOD1 ALS treated with QALSODY have shown not only slowing of progression, but have had progression stopped altogether or shown signs of improvement,” the doctor, who was not involved in Green’s care, told Fox News Digital. 

Dr. Thomas Purvis, a neurologist at the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, called tofersen one of the “most exciting medications” for ALS in recent years.

The former retail manager first started experiencing symptoms more than 10 years ago, when her legs started to feel heavy during what would normally be an easy run, Green told Fox News Digital. (Raziel Green)

While the benefits seen during the 28-week trial period were “modest,” he said, patients began to look and feel better over the long term.

“This is often the case in clinical trials for chronic diseases — the benefit is better appreciated when the treated patients are followed over a longer period of time, so it is hard to say when the drug is newly released just how much benefit we can expect to see over the long term,” Purvis, who also was not involved in Green’s care, told Fox News Digital. 

“We can speculate that because the drug targets the DNA, it could be curative if given early enough, but these trials have not been conducted yet.”

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There have been some side effects seen in a small number of patients who have taken QALSODY.

“Approximately 7% of those treated with QALSODY in the clinical trial had serious side effects, including myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord), radiculitis (nerve pain), increased intracranial pressure and some others,” Miller shared with Fox News Digital.

Green is pictured hugging her son during one of his hockey games. Green She said her medication has allowed her to participate in her children’s sports competitions, graduations and other milestones.  (Raziel Green)

Some rare effects included severe headaches, weakness and sensory loss, according to Purvis. 

“Finally, we do not know the long-term consequences decades down the line after we expose patients to these therapies, simply because they have not been around long enough,” he added. 

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“Current data, however, seems to tell us that the therapies are safe long-term.” 

Stephanie Fradette, Pharm.D., head of the neuromuscular development unit at Biogen (maker of QALSODY), noted that in the Phase 3 VALOR study, QALSODY-treated participants experienced a 55% reduction in plasma neurofilament levels, a marker of neurodegeneration, compared to a 12% increase in placebo-treated participants.

Today, Green uses a cane full-time and a wheelchair for long distances — but given that her symptoms have not worsened, she is still able to do many of the things she enjoys. (Raziel Green)

“As we look ahead at what’s next for ALS research, our work in SOD1-ALS has shown that it is possible to slow the devastating neurodegeneration that occurs in this disease,” Fradette told Fox News Digital. 

“We are continuing to apply lessons from our recent research in SOD1-ALS, as well as research we have done over the last decade, to help us bring safe and effective therapies to the broader ALS community.”

‘Hope to keep going’

Green expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to take QALSODY, which has now been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is available to anyone diagnosed with this specific gene mutation.

“I can still travel. I can still get myself up. I am still independent in my daily activities.”

Every 28 days, Green goes to receive the medication.

Today, she is somewhat limited in her mobility. She uses a cane full-time and a wheelchair for long distances — but given that her symptoms have not worsened, Green is still able to do many of the things she enjoys.

“The benefit is better appreciated when the treated patients are followed over a longer period of time,” one doctor said. Green, pictured here with her son, said neurologists see no difference in her condition since she began taking QALSODY. (Raziel Green)

“I can still travel. I can still get myself up. I am still independent in my daily activities,” she told Fox News Digital. “I still go to the gym once in a while, when accompanied by someone.”

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Green has also been able to participate in her children’s sports competitions, graduations and other milestones. 

The medication has given Green — and other patients with the same gene — “hope to keep going,” she said.

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“And it gives my kids the opportunity to get tested and to have this medicine as a preventative treatment,” Green went on. “That was the main goal for me — to stay stable going forward after receiving the treatment.”