Best Heart Herbs

I am under the impression that any smoking and any herbal supplements can be detrimental to the health of a recovering heart transplant recipient, both because of chemical shocks to the new heart and also because of possible complications with medications being taken. What effects can marijuana use have on a recipient (taken post-discharge from hospital after receiving the heart)?

As per the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a study has indicated that an abuser’s risk of heart attack more than quadruples in the first hour after smoking marijuana. The researchers suggest that such an effect might occur from marijuana’s effects on blood pressure and heart rate and reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.

Within a few minutes after inhaling marijuana smoke, an individual’s heart begins beating more rapidly, the bronchial passages relax and become enlarged, and blood vessels in the eyes expand, making the eyes look red. The heart rate, normally 70 to 80 beats per minute, may increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute or, in some cases, even double. This effect can be greater if other drugs are taken with marijuana.

Some adverse health effects caused by marijuana may occur because THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) impairs the immune system’s ability to fight off infectious diseases and cancer. In laboratory experiments that exposed animal and human cells to THC or other marijuana ingredients, the normal disease-preventing reactions of many of the key types of immune cells were inhibited. In other studies, mice exposed to THC or related substances were more likely than unexposed mice to develop bacterial infections and tumors.

Based on these facts, it is easy to conclude that if marijuana use causes these adverse effects in normal healthy humans, it will cause equal amount of harm (if not more) in heart transplant patients.

For a heart transplant patient, any stress on the heart is ill-advised. In addition, a transplant patient needs to take immunosuppressants. Marijuana impairs the immune system’s ability to fight off infectious diseases and cancer. Hence the chances of infection and/ or cancer increases with marijuana use in case of transplant patients.

As per the Publication of Drug Watch Oregon, Volume 3, No. 4, January 1997, a 48 year old successful kidney transplant patient who heavily used marijuana immediately following his transplant developed invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), a fungus transmitted in the smoke of marijuana. Marks et al reported on their use of an experimental antifungal drug to effectively treat this life threatening condition (Transplantation, Vol. 61, 1771-1773, No. 12, June 27, 1996), and noted that IPA "is a devastating complication in the immuno-compromised patient" such as patients with AIDS, chronic granulomatous disease, bone marrow transplants and those receiving chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer. Aspergillosis has up to a 90% fatality rate if contracted by transplant patients.

In my case, my transplant clinic has strictly recommended that I should not smoke, drink or do drugs after my transplant. (I never smoked, drank or did drugs in my life – Thank God!). The reason being that these interfere with the immunosuppressants and cause more harm in transplant patients than in normal people.

In my opinion, the priority of a heart transplant patient is taking care of the new heart and not smoking marijuana. If pain is a problem, the patient should contact his transplant clinic and get a prescription for pain medication.