Health Happenings

Wacky Weed Adds to Heart Attack Risk 
Later in Life

For middle-aged and elderly users, smoking marijuana increases risk of heart attack by nearly five times in the first hour after using the drug, according to a study conducted by Dr. Murray Mittleman of Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center. After the first hour, the risk drops to 1.7 times the normal risk.

Mittleman called these findings a warning to Boomers who have been smoking marijuana for decades.  "They should at least be aware that their risk of a heart attack suddenly soars each time they smoke the drug."

Other studies have already shown that marijuana does not cause the same increase in heart-attack risk for younger users.