Expert: Caroline West - 1/23/2009

Question
this is the third time ive heard the heart attack theory.. but ive never heard once in my life of someone suffering a heart attack and dying from smoking pot.. i guess it has happened.. do you know of any cases?. are there links?

ive searched, and came up empty.. and i dont know if i could trust it, if i did find it, because im afraid it wont list the persons mental and physical health..you know what i mean? i guess im looking for a case where a person of average mental and physical health suffered a heart attack due to smoking weed.

ive been around weed a lot in my life, ive grown up around it. and a lot of people in my life smoke. my brother told me the only times that he felt like 'something was wrong' before smoking was when he had a bad (as far as heart going crazy)... is the heart racing due more to paranoia than the drug itself? a friend of mine tripped out, thinking for sure he would die, and no one knew what to do.. are there tips to help someone who is 'tripping'...is it true that when your heart is beating cray fast that you'll burp? or is that caused by the effects of weed?

my main concern with everything here is on the heart. all ive heard is the same paragraph.. about low blood pressure, increased heart rate, 4 times more likely...and after 3 sentences thats it. i guess id like to see more on that than just three vague sentences..

Thank you very much for your time!  

Answer
Hi Steven. You know what? this is the first time ever that I have heard about smoking pot causing a heart attack.

A person can smoke too much and experience real horrible feelings-over here we call it 'The Whites'-and when they go into that mode the heart does start going faster and faster and also the whites can make you feel really sick and you can puke up plus at times you do actually really feel like your dying but it wears off after a good sleep.

Yes paranoia will definitely cause the heart to beat faster,coz when you are paranoid your super sensitive and the brains going overtime trying to get a grip on reality. So yes that can cause palpitations (faster heart rhythms) but not that I have heard of heart attack but don't quote me on that as there MAY well have been an occasion when a Heart Attack has happened-I just haven't heard of it.

There are stronger and stronger strains of weed coming out all the time and some of them are really potent and can cause all what I've been talking about so the smoker should do a little test first.

If someone is tripping out YOU keep calm and then just keep reassuring them that they are ok and it will pass. Get them to take long deep breaths and do it with them so they know they aren't alone and that will actually help them,so keep doing long,deep breaths with them. This will calm them-it wont make the whites disappear altogether (a good nights sleep will do that) but it will make it easier for them and also don't leave them.

I touched a bit on it earlier about testing the weed first especially if its a different dealer or a different batch. As you know smelling it will tell you a bit about its strength but do a test of the stuff first. Just put half of what you would normally use into a joint and see what its like,then use however much you normally would if its ok.

I just want to touch on something else which is mental health. If someone is prone to paranoia and/or is on psychiatric medicines,they should definitely stay well away from smoking weed. I can't stress this enough as it can really mess the brain up and cause a lot of distress so please bear that in mind.

Ok,I hope some of that has helped.If you want to contact me about anything else then feel free to do so and I wish you all the best.

Take care, Caroline