Does smoking Marijuana cause a negative affect for patients with congestive heart failure?

A friend with CHF just died today because after heart surgery he believed it was okay to smoke pot. To smoke anything with CHF is totally stupid. Anyone that says otherwise does not understand how the lungs and heart work together, not only did it cause his blood pressure to go out of control causing him to bleed out, it deprived his heart and his body of oxygen due to particulate matter in his lungs. Even if ingested the oils cause high blood pressure and if you have CHF can kill you, just so you know we are grieving his death today. He believed all the propaganda on pot and made the mistake to smoke it and take the oil so it killed him. If that sounds like a good idea to you, go ahead. This is just the advice of someone grieving the loss of someone that believed the pot propaganda and did not follow his doctors advice. I suggest you totally stop it and smoke nothing to have as much life left as you can have and you will be okay. You can recover from cannabis addiction, yes I mean addiction because he could not stop smoking it even though he knew it was possible and was told it could kill him. If that is not addiction, then I do not know what is.

 STOP SMOKING EVERYTHING. thanks

I am 22 and have CHF. Have tried herb since I got it in Sept. 2013, but hope to again someday. How did you get your CHF? Got mine from a virus.

Thank you that made a lot of sense.

I have CHF and I use a vaporizer for marijuana and have for about 5 years now. It's far better for the pain than the poisons in the pills I have, percodet, vicodin and morphene. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that smoke in the lungs cannot possibly be good for you, but vapor does no harm as far as we currently know.

Thanks for saying this hope u will continue to tell others to stop . I have hubby with CHF shared this with him. Hopefully he will listen and stop.

my boyfriend was hospitalized on 8-29-14 due to aortic valve placed from his right leg into his heart valve he was released on 9-8-14 ater 6 days the ay he returned home he returned on the marajuana train and he gets very nasty when you dont give him money for it,for his safety Iam ready to report him whom is the proper authority, that I could report him to please respond thank you someone whom is trying to save their kids dad life

I feel you. I'm 23 & have CHF. I smoked for the first time tonight in a year and my heart is pounding so hard. And I'm so paranoid. I don't know what to do. Trying to chill now & read these comments so I'll know what to do. I know I'm not smoking again.

I have been a weed smoker for 15 years. And after a bad case of pneumonia, one that lasted 3 months, i ended up in the hospital with CHF. Now, I'm a very heavy man, about 400lbs. So they were shocked to find that- even tho my heart was now enlarged, the functions were excellent. When they asked me "Do you smoke?", i would say "Yes". And each time, they would pull out the pen to jot down the information, next asking "How many times a day?". And when i told them "I smoke about 5 bowls of weed a day", they would laugh, put the pen away, and either say nothing and move on, or choke out "Thats why your heart functions are so excellent". Almost as if to shout that epic Family Guy 1-Liner ***"Why are we not funding this!!" I don't see that many doctors, but every doctor i have ever told "I smoke weed"; has never stopped me, done a double-take, or said "That's bad for you, you should stop immediately" Marijuana is a Vaso-Dialator, acting as a natural blood thinner. Which is the opposite of tobacco, which thickens the blood and constricts the blood vessels. When you smoke a cigarette, the heart beats faster to pump, the now, sludgy and thickened blood through your veins. Your heart beats faster on weed, because now blood is moving thru your body at a more efficient rate, hence the dilated blood vessels in your eyes that make them appear red. All of your veins are now open and ready for business. HOWEVER! I would feel remiss, if i did not point out; IF YOU JUST UNDERWENT HEART SURGERY OR ARE SUFFERING ANY COMPLICATIONS OF THE HEART, DO NOT USE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SUBSTANCES: Alcohol Tobacco Salt Oil more than 1.5lt of water a day Sex Or even Marijuana. Anything that speeds up your heart rate should be avoided. Especially if that ticker is dodgy already. If your heart is beating too fast, do not panic. Unless you feel chest pain or any pain in the upper extremities, you are in a decent place. Inhale deep, purse your lips, and blow the air out thru your mouth, at HALF the speed you inhaled it. This not only helps calm down your breathing, but oxygenate your blood, as well. But, again, to anyone worried about an increased heart-rate; unless followed by pain, do NOT panic yourself and make things worse. Get into a zen and meditated posture and just concentrate on that breathing exercise. *** US5512270 is the United States Patent, submitted by Duke University, for Marijuana's ability to "Treat Respiratory System Disorders, Parkinson's Disease and Gastrointestinal Disorders", and was publicized in 1996. To date, 25 (PUBLIC) patents on Marijuana exist as medicine, and are owned by various organizations. From high profile Scientists like Julius Axelrod, who patented Marijuana as an Antioxidant- to the US Department of the Army, who submitted a patent for Marijuana's "Inhibitors of arachidonic acid metabolites for preventing neurological damage". Also, there is already a Federal Marijuana program known as the Compassionate IND, which has been providing Raw Marijuana, in the form of joints, to patients since the 70's. It still exists today, is handled by the US Health Department, and the Marijuana (Government Weed) is grown at the University of Mississippi. Btw, the program was closed to new enrollment, after the aids epidemic of the early 90's hit. The reason WHY, is startling. Apparently, it was difficult to get into the program. But when it was discovered Marijuana could help AIDS patients with the Dementia, inability to eat and pain; the applications were updated to quickly enroll AIDS patients into the program. But AIDS patients were already seen as deviant homosexual animal raping monsters, who god smote with this disease for a reason, and shouldn't be rewarded for their heathenish lifestyles with "Drugs". And the program was quickly shut down....yes....AIDS pushed Marijuana off the table. Had more patients been able to enter the program, we would have more successful data than just a few hundred people who had excellent quality of life before they died.

I just had  chf on 12/17/2014. I passed out or my heart stop beating while at work do to wpw syndrome. Luckliy it happened at work and not at my house while noone was there to call 911 and do cpr. I have a pacemaker/difab on my heart. I smoke weed.  I also take three types of meds. This one med is Carvedilol. When on this med, I have less energy, very up and down in my moods. I am a 35 yr old man. Once again i smoke weed. TO the person who started this topic, I am lost to. there isn't really any study on weed with chf or wpw. I would ask your doctor man. Also how do you feel when you smoke weed? I think chf and wpw is someone in the same area. Also I am 6'3 and use to way 170 pounds. I told my Doctor that I smoke weed, cigs and drink. Slowed down on the drinking, but I have pacemaker/difb in me. Just ask your doctor that the best advice.

Doritos are definitely bad for CHF! Skip the salt. Have chocolate.

So your saying pot is good help me cause iam confused I had open heart surgery which was a 8bypasses surgery.

I'm no Dr either but I use that first line you use in many disagreements because people tend to try to justify an action they within themselves are having problems with determining whether it is "Right or Wrong." However in the case where you wouldn't tell your Doctor there are more factors to consider. Just an obvious one to point out is how the Dr. always inquire whether you are a smoker of any sorts or not even though some of them do in fact smoke themselves. Now please don't get me wrong here because I believe there are negative effects to smoking, however I also believe that insurance companies like the idea of blaming something on smoking to deny coverage. Or as an easy out. Judging how our society works in itself there is enough evidence that insurance companies are more often corrupt. Also it may be wise to consider "legalities" while one thing may be legal this year that same thing may be illegal next year and vice versa. The problem with not wanting to tell your Doctor you smoke weed may not come from a since of "wrong doing" or "shamefulness" and need for justification but to the fact that you have to tell an authoritative figure whom will document your illegal weed use on paper. Now some would think Hippa would protect you in this situation however a Judge's orders can bypass Hippa. And though Weed may really not be wrong to one person It most certainly is wrong in the sight of the law. However the law is not always right either. But laws are subject to change so who knows. I'm 36 now, and had a massive Heart Attack in my teenage years that caused the bottom half of my heart to die, That heart event wasn't discovered till I was 32 and going through a Massive Widow Maker at 100% blockage which ended in emergency quadruple bypass, where they discovered the damage from the much older heart attack. Until that heart event I had been complaining of all kinds of chest pains and was simply instructed that my heart was fine according to the EKG's and Cardiologist. They even assured me before the fateful day that I had never had a heart attack before in my life. Wander why my cabbage was "on the house." Even the day the event started I didn't go to hospital I went to sleep woke up next day then went in, EKG came back perfect, but blood test showed the heart attack enzymes were at 5.0, so naturally they realized there EKG machine wasn't all that reliable. Now I have CHF, Diabetes, CAD, PTSD, Insomnia, Gastroparesis, and there are others waiting to be found lol. This whole experience has taught me not to just trust fancy medical machines and doctors blindly as I had before.

Do u vape or burn?

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Where are you getting the information that pot has more tar and carcinogens than tobacco? That information is very very wrong. Even if that were true, which it isn't, smoking in general is not good for your lungs. Even breathing in smoke from a fireplace or campfire is bad. You can however make or buy canna butter or oil and consume the product that way. Problem with smoking solved.