MIAMI – A South Florida researcher has received a $2.3 million dollar grant to investigate the impact of cannabis on the hearts of HIV patients.
Cardiologist Dr. Claudia Martinez with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine says H.I.V. patients are already at high risk of cardiovascular disease than those without the disease and many use cannabis for medical reasons.
“So we are looking into this because cannabis may be good or bad, we don’t really know. There are some anti-inflammatory components there are some pro-cardiac risk components, so we are actively testing levels of cannabis in the blood and urine and doing cardiac imaging, a special M.R.I. of the heart, to take a look at the inflammation and its relationship to H.I.V. and cannabis use,” Martinez said.
The cannabis research builds on Martinez’s previous studies into the impact of cocaine use and anti-retroviral therapy on the cardiovascular health of people with H.I.V.
On the subject of heart disease, a study published this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that women age 55 and younger have nearly double the risk of being re-admitted to the hospital following a heart attack compared to men of a similar age.
The findings suggest a need for closer health monitoring of the 40 thousand American women between the ages of 18 to 55 who have heart attacks every year.
And new research shows that teenagers in toxic relationships can suffer long term health consequences.
Researchers looked at 38 studies that focused on the effects of abuse in teen relationships.
They found that the teens are likely to repeat unhealthy patterns in intimate relationships as they get older.
Teen dating violence was also linked to an increase in risky sexual behaviors.