Marijuana users could be good candidates for heart transplants, new research shows
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Are cannabis users suitable candidates for heart transplants? While they’re not currently thought of as such, a new study suggests they may be wrong. Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine analyzed more than 200 papers, reviewed pre- and post-heart transplant considerations associated with marijuana use, and published their findings in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure.
The researchers concluded that the medical community should review its understanding of cannabis use and heart transplantation, writes the IU School of Medicine. This implies the potential for an entirely new approach to identifying suitable heart transplant candidates.
The study’s lead author, Onyedika Ilonze, MD, called the issue of cannabis heart transplantation controversial.
“This is a dilemma at a time of increasingly favorable laws regarding medical and recreational cannabis use,” said Ilonze, an assistant professor of medicine at IU and a member of the Cardiovascular Institute. “The dilemma is compounded by an increasing need for heart transplants.”
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Ilonze and his colleagues discovered that clinicians’ decisions not to select cannabis users as acceptable heart transplant candidates are based on old data or have no scientific significance.
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“Clinical bias, lack of consensus, and a lack of research limit standard decision-making and exacerbate differences in heart transplantation,” he said.
The research also pointed to other key areas that deserve further analysis.
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“We need to learn more about the interactions between cannabis and immunosuppressants and investigate the link between cannabis use and transplant survival,” Ilonze added. “Clarifying this will take us further and help us to establish a standardized evaluation process.”
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
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